Our webcast of the 2001 African eclipse was broadcast live from Zambia on 21 June and presented by Chris Riley. To view an archive of the programme, click on our space TV on the right. If the video doesn't play, you'll need to download the latest version of RealPlayer.

See why eclipses happen with our animation

Millennium eclipse

Our team was based in Chisamba, north of Zambia's capital Lusaka, to stream back live images of the event. The eclipse started in the South Atlantic Ocean and continued to sweep eastwards across Africa at over 2200km/h, crossing Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, central Mozambique and ending in southern Madagascar.

Find the dates of upcoming eclipses

SOHO telescope spots the Sun

Learn more about the dynamic nature of the Sun with this collection of European Space Agency clips taken by the SOHO spacecraft. They show sunspots the size of the Earth releasing powerful solar flares across the Solar System.

Explore the Sun further

Webcast technology

The team was armed with just a video camera, a satellite telephone and a car battery. Chris's face and voice were sent as Realmedia video via ISDN through a satellite phone. The signal was sent to a communications satellite positioned over the Earth's equator. It was then relayed back to the BBC's computer servers on Earth and sent through the network to deliver live images to your computer.