Google Street View is an endless treasure trove of unintentional discoveries, but this one might eclipse them all.
A Google Street View car driving through a Missouri road captured the otherworldly scenes of last year’s solar eclipse.
The vehicle’s 360-degree camera travelled through McKelvey Hill Drive in Maryland Heights, Missouri, as the sky briefly turned to night during last year’s phenomenon.
Viewers clicking through can experience what seems like time travel as they pass from bright sun to darkened sky and back again.
The coincidence was spotted by Mike Kentrianakis, a member of the American Astronomical Society’s Solar Eclipse Task Force.
“I guess those Google vans photographing every road on the planet don’t stop for nothing,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
“Drive on this Google Map right into the darkness of the eclipse or look up in the sky and see the Sun blocked by the Moon in what was a prolonged Diamond Ring just outside the limit of totality near St Louis. Pretty darn neat. Talk about realism,” he added.
The car managed to pick up certain details, such as the ring surrounding the eclipse and a woman looking up at the sun.
Google Van and The EclipseI guess those Google vans photographing every road on the planet don't stop for nothing. Not…Posted by Mike Kentrianakis on Monday, April 9, 2018
No detail was missed – check out these crescent shadows which appear a few clicks after you emerge from the darkness.
