Fact Check: Captivating video of solar eclipse 2015 shot from a plane resurfaces as recent

Hyderabad: A video of a solar eclipse is being widely circulated on social media. Users claim that the video is of the celestial phenomenon captured on April 8, 2024.

The total solar eclipse of 2024 is a significant astronomical event that took place on April 8, 2024. It was visible from parts of North America, including Mexico, the United States, and Canada but not from India. During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, casting a shadow on Earth and blocking out the Sun’s light.

Against this backdrop, a video of a solar eclipse captured from a place in the air is being widely shared on X with the hashtag #SolarEclipce2024.

The official X handle of Chennai Weather-Raja Ramasamy has also shared the video with the caption, ‘#SolarEclipse2024 is seen from an airplane in mid-flight.’

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Fact Check

NewsMeter found the claim to be false as the viral video is old and unrelated to the recent solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.

We performed a keyword search and found the viral video uploaded on multiple articles as a representative visual explaining partial and total solar eclipses. One such article on Sixpenceee explained the visuals ‘This gif shows a solar eclipse as viewed from a plane. I thought this was beautiful’ back in 2016.

The stills and gifs from the viral video were also found on image and video sites such as Imgur, makeagif and Pinterest from different timelines ranging from 2016 to 2022.

Moving forward, we ran the keyframe from the viral video through a reverse image search. The result led us to an X tweet carrying the same video with the caption, “In case you have ever wondered, this is what a total solar eclipse look like from an airplane,” dated October 28, 2023.

Not only this but we found multiple posts carrying the same video uploaded on different timelines i.e. on X from 2022 and Facebook from 2020.

We noticed that in the tweet, the video credits were attributed to Sylvain Chapeland. Over a search, we found the user on Instagram and YouTube. Scanning their profile, we learned that the user Sylvain describes himself as an Astrosurfer with many astronomical glimpses and captures in his profile.

On closely analysing Slyvian Chapeland’s Instagram profile, we found a link to his website AstroSurf.com and found the viral video on the website titled ‘Total solar eclipse’ dated March 20, 2015. The text on the website is written from a first-person POV of someone who has at least participated in shooting the video from an aerial object, like a plane.

An excerpt on the website read, “High altitude observation for this eclipse, in a clear atmosphere at 14,000m. An unforgettable stratospheric experience, with 3'50" of totality, or 1 minute more than the maximum of the eclipse thanks to the speed of the plane.” The post was dated March 22, 2015.

The text ends with ‘Mission accomplished! Once again, human contact and the pleasure of sharing this spectacle with friendly companions and adventure companions have increased the interest of this fascinating experience. And to add to the novelty, this eclipse was very different from previous expeditions on dusty tracks, difficult to make conditions more comfortable! In short, can't wait for the next one... on land, on sea, or in the air?’

With this investigation, it is evident that the video is old, at least from 2015 and does not show the solar eclipse in 2024.