Total Lunar Eclipse Sponsored By Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

If you are rolling on the floor laughing after looking at the title of this news post… well, let me tell you… it’s actually true.

Today a total Lunar Eclipse is taking place at the very moment we are speaking. It is the first of two total such eclipses in 2011.

And guess what? It’s clear that marketing guys at Paramount is taking full advantage of it; Advertising the upcoming final Michael Bay Transformers Live Action Movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

If you are listening to the worldwide live webcast of the event, the broadcast is sponsored by the movie.

Read the Press Release after the break...

Update: For the astro lovers... an image taken from the Full Eclipse after the jump:

NEW YORK, NY, June 15, 2011 — In an ongoing mission to share a live view of the universe, Slooh, the online Space Camera, in collaboration with Google will broadcast a live feed of today’s total lunar eclipse from Dubai, South Africa and Cyprus starting at 2:00 PM EDT/11:00 AM PDT.

Stargazers all over the world are invited to simultaneously watch the total lunar eclipse unfold in what is expected to be the largest audience ever assembled for a celestial event. The lunar eclipse will be broadcast in its entirety over a four-hour period, with the total eclipse of the moon to occur at 3:13pm EDT. The live feed can be accessed at Slooh’s Mission Interface on the web and also as a featured video stream on Google’s channel on YouTube.

Today’s coverage of the lunar eclipse builds on the announcement in October 2010 that used Slooh’s imagery in the sky layer of Google Earth. The digital images of celestial objects are captured by Slooh members with Slooh’s patented instant imaging technology and are automatically uploaded to Sky in Google Earth to share with the world. On December 20, 2010 Google and Slooh collaborated for the first time to broadcast a total lunar eclipse through Sky in Google Earth.

“Broadcasting the lunar eclipse online in collaboration with Google creates the power to touch all of humanity at once,” said Michael Paolucci, Founder of Slooh. “It’s an opportunity to celebrate our commonality, and appreciate a moment of global synchronicity. Internet technology makes this possible like never before in human history.”

Nationally renowned astronomer Bob Berman will host the four-hour spectacle with live audio narration starting at 2:00 PM EDT/11:00 AM PDT. He will be joined by several guests throughout the show, including Duncan Copp, a presenter for BBC and National Geographic and director-producer of many astronomy films and TV shows including “In the Shadow of the Moon”, an award-wining film about the Apollo astronauts. To listen to the audio narration and capture live photographic images of the lunar eclipse with the Slooh Space Camera, go to Slooh.com and sign up for a Slooh Commander membership.

Slooh is also announcing the launch of a new Android app for its eclipse coverage, making it the first time a live celestial event will be broadcast to a mobile device. The free app shows Android phone users major celestial happenings as they occur and delivers multiple live feeds of outer space directly to Android phones. Users can also capture and share their own space photos. The app is available for free download in the Android Market.

The total eclipse of the moon will begin at 2:00 PM EDT/11:00 AM PDT on June 15 and will only be visible to the naked eye throughout Africa, Europe and the Central Asia. Slooh and Google’s online broadcast of the eclipse will make viewing possible for people in North America and the rest of the world.

Slooh’s broadcast of the lunar eclipse is sponsored by Paramount Pictures TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, the third film in the franchise and the first shot in 3D. It is directed by Michael Bay, written by Ehren Kruger and produced by Don Murphy & Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce. The executive producers are Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Brian Goldner and Mark Vahradian. The movie opens worldwide on June 29, 2011. © 2011 Paramount Pictures Corporation. All rights reserved.

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