Dan Broadbent
A Google Street View car in Maryland Heights, Missouri drove right through the path of totality during the ‘Great American Eclipse’ of 2017 – and now you can, too!
Google Street View is really an amazing tool. It’s helped me figure out where I’m supposed to go when more traditional directions aren’t very clear. And when I worked for Child Protective Services, I sometimes used it to help figure out addresses for families we were attempting to locate. But teyond its practical uses, Street View has been a source of entertainment, too.
It’s caught things like lightning strikes:
It’s captured epic sword fights:
Google Street View found Waldo:
And it even captured… Whatever the hell this is:
But never before has it captured the totality of a solar eclipse!
Mike Kentrianakis made the post on Facebook earlier this month to share the discovery:
Although the Google Street View camera captured people looking up at the corona of the sun, apparently the driver of the vehicle wasn’t amused. While I would normally applaud focusing on one’s job so intently… COME ON, IT’S A FREAKIN’ TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE, DUDE!
teechip.com/tardigrade-die-never
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You can scroll through the eclipse yourself below, as captured by the Google Street View car. If you look at the sunlight coming through the trees on the ground, you can actually see crescents of the sun, showing how much of the sun is eclipsed!
(Here’s a backup link to the map in case the embedded map is not loading)
Here’s a quick video I made during the eclipse in 2017. I *promise* to do better with the upcoming eclipse in 2024. I’ll be hanging out in my backyard (weather permitting), and should have at least 3 cameras setup to capture it next time.
So whatever you do, whenever you have a chance to see a total eclipse, DO IT! Don’t settle for 95% or even 99%. Get as close to the center of the path of totality as you can. You’ll thank me for it later, I promise.
