NASA's live broadcast of total solar eclipse 2017 brings in the largest audience on record

New Delhi: The biggest, most awaited celestial event of 2017 – the total solar eclipse was definitely a sight to behold.

The eclipse graced the American skies after almost a century and no one wanted to miss the magic unfold, least of all NASA.

While the space agency goes live with every space event that takes place, the total solar eclipse was one that just couldn't be given up since it was visible only in America. Needless to say, their coverage was larger than life.

NASA had estimated a viewership of more than 40 million across the globe on NASA TV and multiple social media platforms and as per data revealed by the US space agency, the broadcast attracted more traffic to NASA websites than any other event on record.

"With more than 90 million page views on nasa.gov and eclipse2017.nasa.gov, we topped our previous web traffic record about seven times over," NASA officials wrote.

It was one of the biggest internet events in recent history and by far the biggest online event NASA has ever measured.

There have been nearly 27 million unique views on Facebook before and after the eclipse, and 12.1 million unique views were recorded on on NASA.gov's Eclipse Live page during the event, peaking at between two and three million simultaneous views.

The NASA.gov numbers alone are several times larger than reported streaming numbers for recent Super Bowls, putting the eclipse in the realm of major news, sports and entertainment events.

In addition to the main television broadcast, there were nearly 12 million unique viewers across other video feeds from telescopes and events.

NASA scientists are studying the data gathered from spacecraft, aircraft, ground observations and scientific balloons to learn more about the Sun and Moon, and even learn about the effect of a Mars-like environment on life.

The next big American eclipse will occur in 2024.

(With IANS inputs)