Ninty nine years. That’s how long it’s been since a total solar eclipse was visible from coast to coast across the entire continental United States. Naturally, an event this rare drew the attention of the global audience. If you saw the total solar eclipse a few days ago, chances are that you were at least awed by it. For some people, though, the eclipse provided a tremendous opportunity to create web content. For one person in particular, they decided to create a four-minute video detailing the experience of driving on the road during the eclipse. Well, it was a good idea because the video itself is, well, illuminating.

Credits to HaloMasterMind117 for thinking about doing this. While everyone had their necks strained to the high heavens watching the phenomena, this guy was driving around the town, dashboard camera rolling, to document the changing environment as the moon completely blocked the sun for a few minutes. The video starts off just as the eclipse was reaching its totality in Columbia, South Carolina. From what looks to be a typically sunny August afternoon, the sky quickly goes dark, prompting the street lights to turn on. In a matter of seconds, that “typically sunny August afternoon” turns into dusk and just as quickly, goes full-scale nighttime. You would think that this was some kind of time-lapse video but it isn’t. It’s the effect of the total solar eclipse. The driver then drives along a straight road for a few minutes and the color in the sky quickly changes just as the sun re-appears, first looking like dawn, and then back to being a typically sunny August afternoon. Take note that all of this happened in a matter of minutes, further adding to how awesome it must have been to experience the total solar eclipse in its entirety.

We often take it for granted, but just as we think less and less about it, the universe once again proves just how awesome it is.