Antarctica was the scene of an inspiring display Sunday -- a total eclipse of the sun. It was the first to be witnessed by human eyes on the southern-most continent and also the first to be broadcast for television in high definition.

The Japanese network NHK spent a year hauling seven tonnes of equipment to Antarctica, just so viewers around the world could view the eclipse live in HDTV.

"I think they saw an opportunity to do something that had never been done in history before -- this high definition broadcast -- at a time when this amazing, unusual and rare event was going on. It really worked fantastically," astronomy expert Ivan Semeniuk told CTV Newsnet.

Normal television broadcasts have fairly low resolution, with 480 horizontal lines making up the picture. HDTV as seen on a high definition television with a digital receiver features up to 1,080 lines, providing striking detail and depth.

"Seeing this in such a beautiful format was certainly as close as I've ever come to seeing it in person ... the quality of the picture (was) something I never expected to see on camera," Semeniuk said.

NHK had several cameras set up at various scientific stations, as well as a penguin rookery, to capture the images.

The Discovery Channel aired a live two-hour HDTV special on the eclipse, which featured images from the Japanese broadcaster.

Hot gas could be seen erupting from the sun's surface as the moon passed directly between it and the earth. Stars became visible and the landscape went dark for just under two minutes.

As for the penguins, they appeared agitated during the eclipse and started to roam around. But, they soon calmed down.

The penguins need not worry, the next eclipse won't hit Antarctica until Dec. 4, 2021.

With a report from CTV's John Vennavally Rao