Photo: Volvo
In just over three days from now, the U.S.A. is going to witness a rather unique event: a complete solar eclipse. The rare phenomenon occurs when the Moon lines up perfectly with the Sun to block the latter from our view during the day.
It used to scare ancient people senseless, and since it feels as though someone had turned the dimmer on the sun all the way down, if you have no idea what's going on, it's easy to imagine why. It must be extra puzzling for those who believe the Earth is flat, but we're sure they've come up with a pretty good explanation for it.
We might be a lot wiser on the causes of the eclipse, but our eyes are just as sensitive to the light as they've ever been. And since everybody will want to have a close look at the sun, extra precautions are necessary.
People used to gaze at the phenomenon through pieces of smoked window, but while those might have done the trick for our ancestors, we're much pickier nowadays. We need somebody to offer us guarantees that our eyes will not suffer from the exposure, so we'll likely purchase some certified special glasses.
Volvo is offering an alternative to that, but unfortunately, it's only available for the owners of the recently introduced 2018 XC60 SUV. The device is called the 'Panoramic Moonroof Eclipse Viewer' and, if anything, it's just a sheet of dark tinted plastic you place over your XC60's glass roof. Only this one uses ISO-certified 12312-2 material and comes with a magnetized frame to make sure you won't miss the eclipse as you're running to catch the Eclipse Viewer because of the wind.
The device will actually be made available to select Volvo dealers across the eclipse path - Oregon, Idaho, Nebraska, Missouri and South Carolina - but no price has been disclosed. The Swedish manufacturer claims all five occupants can take advantage of the Panoramic Moonroof Eclipse Viewer and watch the event in 'comfort and safety.'
As part of the company's "Racing the Sun" campaign, one Volvo XC60 SUV equipped with the special item will sit on the eclipse's totality path and stream high-quality (4K) live 360-degrees and VR footage for anyone tuning in to watch.
We might be a lot wiser on the causes of the eclipse, but our eyes are just as sensitive to the light as they've ever been. And since everybody will want to have a close look at the sun, extra precautions are necessary.
People used to gaze at the phenomenon through pieces of smoked window, but while those might have done the trick for our ancestors, we're much pickier nowadays. We need somebody to offer us guarantees that our eyes will not suffer from the exposure, so we'll likely purchase some certified special glasses.
Volvo is offering an alternative to that, but unfortunately, it's only available for the owners of the recently introduced 2018 XC60 SUV. The device is called the 'Panoramic Moonroof Eclipse Viewer' and, if anything, it's just a sheet of dark tinted plastic you place over your XC60's glass roof. Only this one uses ISO-certified 12312-2 material and comes with a magnetized frame to make sure you won't miss the eclipse as you're running to catch the Eclipse Viewer because of the wind.
The device will actually be made available to select Volvo dealers across the eclipse path - Oregon, Idaho, Nebraska, Missouri and South Carolina - but no price has been disclosed. The Swedish manufacturer claims all five occupants can take advantage of the Panoramic Moonroof Eclipse Viewer and watch the event in 'comfort and safety.'
As part of the company's "Racing the Sun" campaign, one Volvo XC60 SUV equipped with the special item will sit on the eclipse's totality path and stream high-quality (4K) live 360-degrees and VR footage for anyone tuning in to watch.
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