Today, as the Earth witnesses a total solar eclipse, Google has marked the astronomical event with a special animation. This interactive feature allows users to experience the celestial event virtually.
The animation depicts the moon passing between the sun and Earth, revealing just the sun’s outermost layer called the corona. This graphic overlay provides a vivid depiction of the phenomena.
How to view Virtual Solar Eclipse on Google Search
To witness Google’s total solar eclipse animation, users simply need to navigate to google.com and search for terms such as “April 8 eclipse”, “Eclipse 2024”, “Solar eclipse”, “Solar eclipse 2024”, or “total solar eclipse”. Upon exploring these search queries, users will encounter the animated overlay.
This total solar eclipse will only be visible in parts of the US, Mexico, and Canada. However, thanks to Google’s animation, users worldwide can get a glimpse of this astronomical phenomenon right from their screens.
What is a Solar Eclipse?
A solar eclipse is a natural astronomical event that occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, obscuring the Sun from a small part of the Earth, either totally or partially. This alignment happens approximately every six months, during the eclipse season in its new moon phase, when the Moon’s orbital plane is closest to the plane of Earth’s orbit.
It’s important to note that looking directly at the Sun during a solar eclipse can lead to permanent eye damage. Therefore, special eye protection or indirect viewing techniques are used when viewing a solar eclipse. Only the total phase of a total solar eclipse is safe to view without protection.
There are about two to five solar eclipses each year. The Moon travels in front of the Sun at approximately 1,398 mph (2,250 km). A total solar eclipse usually lasts about 7 minutes and 30 seconds. However, total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth every 18 months on average, they recur at any given place only once every 360 to 410 years. This is due to the Moon’s orbit being tilted at about 5 degrees to Earth’s orbit, causing its shadow to usually miss Earth.