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From animal behavior to space weather: what we can learn from the total solar eclipse

CARBONDALE, IL - AUGUST 21:  People watch the solar eclipse at Saluki Stadium on the campus of Southern Illinois University on August 21, 2017 in Carbondale, Illinois.  (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
CARBONDALE, IL - AUGUST 21: People watch the solar eclipse at Saluki Stadium on the campus of Southern Illinois University on August 21, 2017 in Carbondale, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Millions of people across the United States experienced a total solar eclipse yesterday. It was the Superbowl of celestial events. Nearly four million people traveled to see it, a New York Yankees game was moved, over a billion dollars was in play, and even prison inmates in New York filed a lawsuit so they could watch the phenomenon. 

The eclipse-mania was an emotional event for many, but the solar eclipse also allows for a unique scientific opportunity. NASA along with universities across the country planned wide-ranging research studies, from learning more about space weather to finding out how different animals react to an eclipse. 

We hear how people and animals responded to the event, and all the eclipse-related science experiments that took place.

Copyright 2024 WAMU 88.5

Michelle Harven