Modern communications technology crosses the reaches of time and space. So why shouldn’t you be able to observe the Sun during a solar eclipse with the cell phone in your pocket? Fortunately, we have an app for that.

Total Solar Eclipse is the Exploratorium’s free mobile app that incorporates our eclipse livestreaming programs. Now available for iOS and Android users at the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the app allows you to view our livestreams of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.

In addition to an optimized video player for watching livestreams, Total Solar Eclipse offers videos about eclipses and how to watch them safely, plus our archive of past eclipse expedition videos from 1998 to 2019. It also features an interactive map that you can use to explore the paths of the eclipses, as well as articles and maps to get you ready for the big events in 2024.

Get Total Solar Eclipse for iOS or for Android

Bring the Eclipse with You

Using your own device, bring the live video of the eclipse to your living room big screen, or create your own eclipse viewing party wherever you are, by sharing the video from your phone or tablet to set-top boxes or connected televisions over Wi-Fi. Most set-top boxes—such as Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku—and many smart TVs and DVD players have screen-mirror receiving functions that you can use to share the app screen from your phone or tablet to display on a TV.

To do this, you need to enable the screen-mirroring function of your receiver device, usually a selection on the device’s settings screen. Next, you’ll need a mirroring app that makes the connection from your mobile device to the screen-mirroring receiver (the set-top box or smart TV). Look for a Miracast-type screen-mirroring app on Google Play or iOS (most are free), and use one to connect from your device to the screen-mirroring receiver. Once connected, you can use the Video Guide in the eclipse app to select a live video stream and watch it on the big screen. See our tips for creating your own viewing party.

Displaying the phone’s screen on a television using a connected Amazon Fire TV’s Display Mirroring function.

If you don’t have an Android or iOS device, don’t worry! Our website is mobile-friendly and you can easily watch the live eclipse video using a web browser app on your phone or tablet. Just point your browser to www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse.