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10 celestial events to look forward to this October!

The best photos of the 2024 solar eclipse

<br /><br />The mission, known as <keyword id="19026307" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="atmospheric-perturbations" source="Orion">Atmospheric Perturbations</keyword> around the Eclipse Path or APEP, is led by <keyword id="19026308" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="aroh-barjatya" source="Orion">Aroh Barjatya</keyword>, will study how the sudden drop in sunlight affects our upper atmosphere, the space agency has said.<br /><br />On October 14, people viewing the annular solar eclipse will experience the sun dimming to 10 per cent its normal brightness, leaving only a bright "ring of fire" of sunlight as the moon eclipses the sun.<br /><br />Some 50 miles up and beyond, the air itself becomes electric. Scientists call this atmospheric layer the ionosphere because it is where the UV component of sunlight can pry electrons away from atoms to form a sea of high-flying ions and electrons.<br /><br />The sun's constant energy keeps these mutually attracted particles separated throughout the day. But as the sun dips below the horizon, many recombine into neutral atoms for the night, only to part ways again at sunrise.<br /><br />During a solar eclipse, the sunlight vanishes and reappears over a small part of the landscape almost at once. In a flash, ionospheric temperature and density drop, then rise again, sending waves rippling through the ionosphere.<br /><br />"If you think of the ionosphere as a pond with some gentle ripples on it, the eclipse is like a motorboat that suddenly rips through the water," said <keyword id="40286" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="barjatya" source="Orion">Barjatya</keyword>, a professor of engineering physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida.<br /><br />"It creates a wake immediately underneath and behind it, and then the water level momentarily goes up as it rushes back in."<br /><br />The APEP team plans to launch three rockets in succession -- one about 35 minutes before local peak eclipse, one during peak eclipse, and one 35 minutes after. They will fly just outside the path of annularity, where the moon passes directly in front of the sun.<br /><br />Each rocket will deploy four small scientific instruments that will measure changes in electric and magnetic fields, density, and temperature. If they are successful, these will be the first simultaneous measurements taken from multiple locations in the ionosphere during a solar eclipse.<br /><br />Barjatya chose sounding rockets to answer the team's science questions because they can pinpoint and measure specific regions of space with high fidelity. They can also measure changes that happen at different altitudes as the suborbital rocket ascends and falls back to Earth.<br /><br />The APEP rockets will take measurements between 70 to 325 kilometres) above the ground along their trajectory.<br /><br />In addition, a ground-based observation will collect ionospheric density and neutral wind measurements. A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory in Westford, will run their radar to measure ionospheric perturbations farther away from the eclipse path.<br /><br />Finally, a team of students from Embry-Riddle will deploy high-altitude balloons (reaching 100,000 feet) every 20 minutes to measure weather changes as the eclipse passes by.<br /><br />The APEP rockets launched in New Mexico will be recovered and then relaunched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, on April 8, 2024, when a total solar eclipse will cross the US from Texas to Maine.<br /><br />

Riding into the sun: Indian-origin NASA scientist to lead rocket mission into 2023 solar eclipse

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The 2024 total solar eclipse will be visible in 15 US states on Monday.</li><li>NASA Television, Google TV, and other platforms will offer free livestreams of the event.</li></ul><p>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-2024-total-solar-eclipse-cool-best-special-nasa-2024-1">2024 solar eclipse</a> is set to take place on Monday and 15 states will have access to view of the moon almost completely covering the sun.</p><p>Residents of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/post/preview?svapi&amp;post_id=65ce6a21ef49b4ccc97bfc80">Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas,</a> Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, as well as areas of Tenessee and Michigan, will get the full view, weather permitting, according to NASA.</p><p>The event will start a little after 12:10 p.m. CT in areas of Texas and a little after 2 p.m. ET in Pennsylvania and New York.</p><p>If you're not in a state with a full view of the total solar eclipse or you <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-to-see-total-eclipse-convince-boss-miss-work-2024-4">can't miss work to watch the event</a>, you can still watch the solar eclipse online — and you don't have to worry about your eyes getting damaged while doing so.</p><h2>NASA Television</h2><p>NASA Television can be livestreamed to your TV, computer, or cellphone starting at 1:00 p.m. ET.</p><p>On your computer or phone, you can access NASA television on NASA+, NASA TV web page, NASA's YouTube channel, NASA app for iOS, and NASA app for Android.</p><p>You can also visit NASA's account on social media to watch the livestream. NASA has accounts on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitch.tv, and Daily Motion.</p><p>Or, you can pull it up on the big screen through a television app or third-party service like Roku, Hulu, DirectTV, DISH Network, Google Fiber, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV. Although some of these services may require fees if you don't already subscribe.</p><h2>Google TV</h2><p class="endmark">Google TV will also offer free live coverage of the 2024 solar eclipse. Google TV will show live broadcasts from different US cities in the line of totality.</p><p class="endmark">Google TV will give access to NBC News Now, Scripps News, Reuters Now, AccuWeather NOW, and a range of NBC channels in major cities and states. You can find each channel in the "For You" tab in Google TV.</p><h2>Other livestream options</h2><p>PBS' primetime science show NOVA will also host a livestream of the event and will feature scientists on its YouTube channel.</p><p>The US National Science Foundation will also begin <a target="_blank" href="http://YouTube.com/@NSFScience">live coverage</a> at 1:55 p.m. ET.</p><p>Skywatching website <a target="_blank" href="http://timeanddate.com">timeanddate.com</a> will cover the total solar eclipse with a livestream and live blog covering background information and live coverage.</p><p>University of Texas's astronomical research facility the McDonald Observatory will also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHAbciq3NNY">livestream</a> the total solar eclipse starting at 12 p.m. CT.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="flex center" href="https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMMqA-Qow-c_gAg?hl=en-US&amp;gl=US&amp;ceid=US:en"><br /></a></p>

How to watch the best views of the solar eclipse for free online

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Humans have been studying <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-2024-total-solar-eclipse-cool-best-special-nasa-2024-1">total solar eclipses</a> for millennia to better understand the cosmos.</li><li>Total eclipses have helped prove Einstein's theory of relativity and led to the discovery of helium.</li></ul><p>On April 8, millions of people across the US will all do the same thing: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-to-see-total-eclipse-convince-boss-miss-work-2024-4">look up</a>.</p><p>In the middle of the afternoon, day will shift to night, as a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-eclipse-map-nasa-where-when-see-path-of-totality-2024-3">total solar eclipse</a> touches 15 states.</p><p>We know now what causes a total <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/devil-comet-visible-during-total-solar-eclipse-how-see-2024-4">solar eclipse</a>. But our ancient ancestors from millennia ago weren't so certain, and that was bad news for some scientists.</p><p>In the 21st century BCE, China's emporer <a target="_blank" href="https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-history">reportedly</a> had two astronomers beheaded for not <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/total-eclipse-solar-power-generation-states-outside-path-totality-2024-3">predicting a total eclipse</a>.</p><p>Over the centuries, total eclipses became less dire and more of an opportunity to test scientific theories and forge <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/helio-year-sun-solar-system-probe-eclipse-events-2024-1">new discoveries</a>.</p><p>Here are seven times a total solar eclipse has helped advance human science.</p><h2>1. Measuring Earth's rotation</h2><div type="image" title="Aerial view of planet Earth covered in clouds." height="1411" width="2124" msid="109088911" hostid="261" sizebytes="77030"></div><p>Some of the earliest suspected records of eclipses <a target="_blank" href="https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/history/">date back</a> thousands of years.</p><p>Some experts have suggested<strong> </strong>petroglyphs or rock carvings found on a monument in Ireland reference an eclipse that took place on November 30 in the year 3,340 BCE. Others have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/18/this-5000-year-old-stone-carving-may-be-the-worlds-first-drawing-of-an-eclipse/">expressed</a> skepticism.</p><p>Human-made markings on tortoise shells from China and a Babylonian tablet from over 3,000 years ago may also contain ancient references to eclipses.</p><p>Though these records are open to interpretation, scholars have <a target="_blank" href="https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/rotation.html">studied</a> historical descriptions of eclipses for centuries. It's how 18th-century astronomer Edmond Halley first realized the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-if-earth-stopped-spinning">Earth's rotation</a> has slowed over millennia.</p><h2>2. Discovering what causes eclipses</h2><div type="image" title="Engraving of  Pericles stands next to Anaxagoras, who is sitting on steps next to columns in Ancient Greece" height="1500" width="2263" msid="109088912" hostid="261" sizebytes="1159624"></div><p>Two modern scholars <a target="_blank" href="https://daily.jstor.org/anaxagoras-and-the-eclipse-the-first-to-get-it-right/">give</a> Greek philosopher Anaxagoras of Clazomenae credit for figuring out the moon's role in eclipses, calling him "perhaps the first empirical astronomer."</p><p>He likely developed his theories after witnessing an annular, or "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/october-solar-eclipse-annular-ring-of-fire-where-how-watch-2023-10">ring of fire</a>," eclipse on February 17, 478 BCE. While he got some of the science right, his overall understanding of the solar system was a product of its time.</p><p>Anaxagoras, for example, thought that air pressure kept the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-living-on-flat-earth-would-look-like-2017-11">flat Earth</a> aloft at the center of the rotating sun, moon, and stars. Despite that error, he worked out the basic mechanics behind eclipses.</p><p>Anaxagoras correctly believed the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-watch-da-vinci-glow-ghostly-shine-moon-phenomenon-2023-5">moon reflected</a> the sun's light. He was also accurate in his theories that when the moon moved in front of the sun, it caused a solar eclipse. Similarly, when the Earth was in between the sun and moon, there would be a lunar eclipse.</p><p>He also used the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-lunar-eclipses-work-earth-moon-red-shadow-2018-7">moon's shadow</a><strong> </strong>during an eclipse<strong> </strong>to estimate its size, but his calculations gave him a much smaller answer than reality.</p><h2>3. Estimating the moon's distance from Earth</h2><div type="image" title="A person is seated looking through a telescope with astrological instruments nearby in Ancient Greece" height="1500" width="2172" msid="109088915" hostid="261" sizebytes="589214"></div><p>On March 14, 189 BCE, a total solar eclipse swept over what is now northern Turkey. Greek astronomer Hipparchus would have just been a child at the time, but it's possible he saw the event.</p><p>Years later, Hipparchus may have used secondhand accounts of that same eclipse to make one of the era's most mathematically accurate estimates of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mind-boggling-nasa-photo-shows-moon-distance-from-earth-2022-10">moon's distance from Earth</a>.</p><p>Though Hipparchus' direct writings are lost, a 4th-century scholar <a target="_blank" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021828618817175">detailed</a> how he used the information.</p><p>The astronomer estimated the distance between where the total eclipse was in modern day Turkey and Alexandria, Egypt — where a fifth of the sun showed — to make his calculation.</p><p>Based on his math, Hipparchus offered a few ranges, including a mean distance<strong> </strong>of about 281,387 miles.</p><p>He wasn't terribly far off. The moon is about 238,855 miles away.</p><h2>4. Predicting the path of an eclipse</h2><div type="image" title="A map of England showing the path of an 18th century eclipse" height="2445" width="2000" msid="109088917" hostid="261" sizebytes="708824"></div><p>In the 11th or 12th century, Mayan astronomers made a remarkable prediction for their time: They calculated that a total solar eclipse would occur in 1991, and their prediction was accurate to within a day.</p><p>It would be centuries until humans made a more accurate prediction. In the 18th century,<strong><em> </em></strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/edmond-halley-solar-lunar-eclipse-manuscripts-sell-auction-2023-12">Edmond Halley</a>, better known for discovering a comet with his name, made a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2015/may/03/halleys-eclipse-newtonian-selling-science-history">map</a> predicting the path of the May 3, 1715 solar eclipse with extreme accuracy.</p><p>Others made maps before him, but Halley based his prediction on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/isaac-newton-burnt-notes-pyramids-apocalypse-theology-sold-auction-2020-12">Isaac Newton</a>'s theory of universal gravitation, which helped him pinpoint the eclipse's timing to within four minutes.</p><h2>5. The discovery of helium</h2><div type="image" title="A drawing of several people seated and standing around astronomical equipment in the late 19th century in India" height="1500" width="2175" msid="109088919" hostid="261" sizebytes="650872"></div><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rare-element-arctic-lava-suggest-earth-core-may-leaking-2023-10">Helium</a> is very abundant in the universe but rare on Earth. It took an eclipse for an astronomer to discover it.</p><p>French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen had <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-scientists-discovered-helium-first-alien-element-1868-180970057/">traveled</a> to Guntur, India just for the August 18, 1868 eclipse. He was using a spectroscope, a prism-like device for separating sunlight into a spectrum.</p><p>Janssen saw a yellow line with a wavelength unlike any other element. Around the same time, English astronomer Norman Lockyer developed an instrument for viewing the sun even without an eclipse. He saw the same line.</p><p>Lockyer called the mysterious element helium. It took a couple of decades for scientists to see it on Earth, during experiments on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/italy-skeleton-of-a-roman-killed-steps-from-sea-fled-vesuvius-eruption-2021-12">Mount Vesuvius</a> lava and uranium.</p><h2>6. Proof of Einstein's theory of relativity</h2><div type="image" title="A building holds a large piece of astronomical equipment with a long tube and rectangular box" height="1500" width="2244" msid="109088922" hostid="261" sizebytes="221628"></div><p>Astronomer James Craig Watson was certain he'd <a target="_blank" href="https://www.american-eclipse.com/">found</a> proof of a new planet during the 1878 eclipse. Supposedly located between the Sun and Mercury, Vulcan was only visible when the moon blocked the giant star.</p><p>Several more eclipses passed without anyone finding evidence of Vulcan. In 1915, Albert Einstein <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/einstein-showed-newton-was-wrong-about-gravity-now-scientists-are-ncna1038671">explained</a> Mercury's unusual orbit with his general <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/albert-einstein-thought-experiments-2023-10">theory of relativity</a>. It fit the data better than a mysterious, difficult-to-spot extra planet.</p><p>Despite this evidence, Einstein's theory didn't receive scientific proof until the May 29, 1919 eclipse. The physicist had said the sun's gravity would bend light from nearby stars.</p><p>In 1919, expeditions traveled to Principe, an island off the coast of Africa, and Brazil. While the moon blocked the sun, the astronomers took photographs.</p><p>The stars seemed to have shifted locations compared to the reference photos. The apparent new locations showed the sun was bending the light within the measurements that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russell-einstein-manifesto-nuclear-weapons-bombs-danger-2024-2">Einstein predicted</a>.</p><h2>7. Studying eclipses from space</h2><div type="image" title="A large antenna dish beneath a solar eclipse" height="1383" width="2055" msid="109088924" hostid="261" sizebytes="79024"></div><p>Gemini 12 astronauts Jim Lovell and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buzz-aldrin-thoughts-lunar-module-moon-liftoff-2017-7">Buzz Aldrin</a> were the first humans to see a total eclipse from space. The November 12, 1966 eclipse moved from Peru to Brazil, and the astronauts hovered near the path of totality.</p><p>It was a coincidence that they were close enough to see it, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-history-of-total-solar-eclipses-seen-by-astronauts-from-outer-space-180983909/">Smithsonian Magazine</a>. Aldrin's photos were unfocused and a bit disappointing.</p><p>Four years later, TV networks <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8i9qNslaJA">broadcast</a> the "eclipse of the century," full of images of the event. NASA also launched over two dozen rockets to study <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-sunscreen-is-not-enough-to-protect-you-from-sun-2023-9">UV radiation</a> and solar X-rays during the phenomenon.</p><p>The agency still uses rockets to gather data during eclipses and will launch three on April 8.</p>

7 times a total solar eclipse revolutionized science 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Selfies can be a great way to document your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-2024-total-solar-eclipse-cool-best-special-nasa-2024-1">total solar eclipse</a> experience with friends and family.</li><li>But the changing light could make it difficult to get a good shot <strong>safely</strong>.</li></ul><p>If you're planning on snapping selfies during the total solar eclipse on April 8, you're going to want to dress for success.</p><p>As the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/great-american-total-solar-eclipse-where-view-see-cities-visible-2024-2">eclipse approaches totality</a> and the sky grows darker, the way our eyes perceive light changes, and colors become more muted.</p><p>This is most noticeable four to five <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/total-solar-eclipse-rare-phenomena-to-watch-2024-3">minutes before totality</a>, when the eclipse enters the mesopic vision zone — when it's just dark enough that everything appears grayish and silvery.</p><p>That can lead to some seriously dull selfies.</p><p>That's why experts at Solar Eyeglasses, a solar eclipse glasses company, are encouraging eclipse watchers to avoid wearing neutrals, and sport red and green clothes instead.</p><p>It's important to note that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/can-i-take-a-selfie-of-the-solar-eclipse-2017-8">taking a selfie during the solar eclipse</a> can be dangerous. Even though you're facing away from the sun, harmful UV rays can bounce off your phone screen and into your eyes. <br /><br />But you can do it safely — just make sure you're wearing your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-approved-eclipse-glasses-brands-2017-8">solar eclipse glasses</a> to protect your eyes from damage, and that your phone camera is protected with a solar filter.</p><p>Or if you want a shot without eclipse glasses, you can safely take them off during totality, when the sun is fully eclipsed. But totality only lasts about a couple of minutes so <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tips-how-to-take-pictures-photos-solar-eclipse-2024-2#:~:text=The%20simplest%20fix%20is%20to,a%20great%20photo%20without%20damage.">be ready and be quick</a>.</p><h2><strong>Why wear green and red during the total eclipse</strong></h2><div type="image" title="A vertical collage of three photos of the same red geranium photographed in different levels of light to demonstrate the The Purkinje effect, with the brightest light in the top image and the lowest light in the bottom image." height="1274" width="640" msid="109046411" hostid="261" sizebytes="25694"></div><p>Green pops the most in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/total-eclipse-solar-power-generation-states-outside-path-totality-2024-3">dim light of a total eclipse</a>. But if you contrast that green with red, it'll be even more striking, a spokesperson for Solar Eyeglasses told BI over e-mail.</p><p>During an eclipse, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-to-see-total-eclipse-convince-boss-miss-work-2024-4?amp">transition from daylight to darkness</a> is gradual enough that we enter an in-between phase where the cones in our eyes — that help us see vibrant colors in daylight — and the rods — that help us distinguish blues and greens in dim light — work at the same time.</p><p>This triggers a shift in our perception of color. The phenomenon is called the Purkinje effect.</p><p>It makes everything appear gray and silvery, as if you're looking at the world through gray-tinted glasses, said Gordon Telepun, creator of the app Solar Eclipse Timer, in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpisePffCd4">video</a>.</p><div type="image" title="A solar eclipsed photographed almost at totality" height="1414" width="2119" msid="109046412" hostid="261" sizebytes="28982"></div><p>For example, reds appear muted. But because your rod cells are working overtime during the dim, mesopic vision zone, green is most likely to stand out.</p><p>Wearing a red and green outfit may create a striking visual contrast in your selfies. In the few minutes before totality, your red clothes will appear darker — almost black — but your green clothes will still look green. Against each other, your green clothes are sure to pop. </p><h2><strong>Other selfie-taking tips</strong></h2><p>There are a few other important things to remember when taking a selfie during the eclipse. </p><p>If you're using your smartphone, be aware that the eclipsed sun will appear quite small in the photo. </p><p>For a closer image, use a digital camera or DSLR instead. Just make sure to protect your camera lens with a solar filter.</p><p>And remember the tenets of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-take-great-travel-photos-solo-trip-content-tips">great selfie-taking</a>: use a selfie stick or tripod, switch to portrait mode or enable live photo mode, and if you have an Apple watch and iPhone <span>use the Bluetooth connection to create a remote shutter so you avoid having to run in and out of the shot with a timer.</span></p>

How to take the perfect selfie during the total solar eclipse 

8 rare phenomena to watch for during the total solar eclipse

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A total solar <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-eclipse-map-nasa-where-when-see-path-of-totality-2024-3">eclipse will be visible</a> from Texas to Maine on Monday.</li><li>This cosmic event occurs when the Earth, sun, and moon align perfectly.</li></ul><p>A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-2024-total-solar-eclipse-cool-best-special-nasa-2024-1">total solar eclipse</a> will turn afternoon skies dark from Texas to Maine on Monday.</p><p>During the eclipse, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mind-boggling-nasa-photo-shows-moon-distance-from-earth-2022-10">the moon</a> will cross between the Earth and the sun, completely blocking out the sun's light. If you're in the moon's shadow, the sky will go dark for about three to four minutes, depending on your location.</p><p>It's the climax of a cosmic dance between <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/human-activities-change-earth-spin-time-keeping-2024-3">our planet</a>, the moon, and the sun.</p><h2>What causes a total solar eclipse</h2><p>During a total solar eclipse, three key conditions happen at the same time: The moon is in the "new moon" phase; the moon crosses the plane of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-if-the-earth-stopped-orbiting-the-sun-2019-10">Earth's orbit</a>; and the moon is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit.</p><p>When those conditions are just right, the Earth, sun, and moon line up. This diagram shows how that looks:</p><div type="image" title="bi_graphics_solareclipse" height="931" width="1200" msid="109110715" hostid="261" sizebytes="39234"></div><p>Then, if you're in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/great-american-total-solar-eclipse-where-view-see-cities-visible-2024-2">path of totality</a> — which is basically the center of the moon's shadow, called the umbra — the moon appears to obscure the sun.</p><p>If you're in the penumbra — the outer region of the moon's shadow — you'll see a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-eclipse-stunning-images-show-sun-obscured-in-rare-event-2021-6">partial solar eclipse</a>, where the moon appears to partially overlap the sun.</p><p>A total solar eclipse happens somewhere on Earth about every 18 months on average. It's rare for one to occur in any single place, though, because of the complex movements of the Earth and moon.</p><p>The moon orbits Earth every 29.5 days, while Earth has its own orbit around the sun. The moon's orbit is tilted about five degrees, which is large enough to keep its shadow off the Earth and the Earth's shadow off the moon most of the time.</p><div type="image" title="the fuzzy circular shadow of the moon appears on white clouds that cover the curvature of earth as seen from space" height="1500" width="2254" msid="109110716" hostid="261" sizebytes="156392"></div><p>There are two points — called nodes — where the moon's orbit crosses the Earth's plane. In the diagram above, the moon is lined up on a node.</p><p>The moon aligns with the nodes and the sun about twice per year, which is how we get eclipses. A solar eclipse happens when the moon is between the Earth and sun. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lunar-eclipse-turn-full-moon-blood-red-on-election-day-2022-11">lunar eclipse</a> happens when the moon is on the other side of the Earth, farthest from the sun.</p><h2>What the total solar eclipse will look like</h2><p>In the path of totality on Monday, where the moon's umbra falls over Earth, the total solar eclipse will have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-eclipse-2017-phases-of-a-total-solar-eclipse-2017-8">10 distinct phases</a>, each with different amounts of the sun visible from the ground.</p><div type="image" title="solar eclipse" height="2334" width="3500" msid="109110717" hostid="261" sizebytes="55390"></div><p>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/total-solar-eclipse-rare-phenomena-to-watch-2024-3">phenomenon</a> kicks off with what's called first contact, when the moon starts to pass across the sun. After about an hour, the moon will almost completely mask the sun, and you'll start to see a bright light radiate out of the sliver of remaining sun, known as the "diamond ring."</p><p>Then the moon will fully eclipse the sun, turning the sky dark in the middle of the day.</p><p>During totality only the sun's outermost atmosphere, called the corona, will be visible glowing around the dark disc of the moon.</p><p>After that, the moon will continue to travel across the sky to form another crescent. The eclipse ends when the moon ceases to cover the sun.</p><h2>Types of solar eclipses</h2><p>There are three <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-solar-eclipse-2017-8">types of solar eclipses</a>.</p><p>Total solar eclipses, like this one, occur when the moon appears to completely cover the sun. If the moon only somewhat covers the sun, that's a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/partial-solar-eclipse-in-august-2018-8">partial eclipse</a>. Many people who are near the path of totality, but not in it, on Monday will see a partial eclipse.</p><p>The third type, an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/october-solar-eclipse-annular-ring-of-fire-where-how-watch-2023-10">annular eclipse</a>, occurs when the moon is too far from Earth to fully block out the sun from our perspective. The outer edge of the sun remains visible as a bright ring around the moon.</p><div type="image" title="Annular eclipse" height="1125" width="1500" msid="109110718" hostid="261" sizebytes="20660"></div><p>A total solar eclipse is considered the most spectacular. Globally, only about a third of all solar eclipses are total.</p><p>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-to-see-total-eclipse-convince-boss-miss-work-2024-4">next total solar eclipse</a> in the contiguous US will be in 2044. </p><h2>How to watch the eclipse</h2><div type="image" title="huddle of people look up toward the sun while holding pink eclipse glasses up to their eyes in front of a wall of sand colored bricks in desert landscape" height="1500" width="2250" msid="109110721" hostid="261" sizebytes="136556"></div><p>If you plan to watch the eclipse, make sure you are wearing ISO-certified <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-approved-eclipse-glasses-brands-2017-8">eclipse glasses</a>. These are 1,000 times darker than regular sunglasses. Without them, staring at the sun could damage your eyes. </p><p>The only safe time to look at the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/safety-tips-watching-partial-solar-eclipse-2017-8">eclipse without glasses</a> is during totality.</p><p><em>Leanna Garfield and Anaele Pelisson contributed to an earlier version of this post</em>.</p>

This diagram shows what happens during a total solar eclipse

A small Australian town was treated to a rare hybrid solar eclipse

Photos show 3 hidden gems you missed from the total solar eclipse

<ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>A total solar </strong><a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-eclipse-map-nasa-where-when-see-path-of-totality-2024-3"><strong>eclipse will be visible</strong></a><strong> in North America today.</strong></li><li>Animals may start acting weirdly as the moon blocks out the sun. </li></ul><p>For millions of people across North America, day will turn into night on Monday as <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mind-boggling-nasa-photo-shows-moon-distance-from-earth-2022-10"><u>the moon</u></a> crosses between the Earth and the sun.</p><p>While most of us are expecting the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/total-solar-eclipse-rare-phenomena-to-watch-2024-3">upcoming solar eclipse</a>, wild animals and pets are blissfully unaware of the rare cosmic event.</p><p>As we turn our <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-eclipse-map-nasa-where-when-see-path-of-totality-2024-3#what-the-purple-and-yellow-lines-mean-4">eyes to the sky</a> (protected by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-watch-solar-eclipse-safely-without-glasses-2024-4">appropriate sunwear</a>) and everything goes dark, animals may start behaving strangely — although scientists aren't quite sure what to expect.</p><p>Reports during previous eclipses have told tales of giraffes going crazy, turtles mating, and dogs cowering.</p><p>But that evidence "could reasonably be regarded as anecdotal from a scientific perspective," Adam Hartstone-Rose, a professor of Biological Sciences at North Carolina State University who studied this topic, told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/weird-animals-eclipse">BBC Science Focus</a>.</p><p>Here are some behaviors spotted during previous solar eclipses, and what scientists will be looking out for this time around.</p><h2>Birds may fall silent</h2><p>Hartstone-Rose and colleagues studied animal reactions at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7222787/">during the 2017 eclipse</a>. Among 17 species they studied, they found some trends that we can expect will pan out during this eclipse.</p><p>One is that animals will start their bedtime routines as the world goes suddenly dark,</p><p>Previous studies have for instance suggested that birds will fall suddenly silent or start to roost, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/04/us/solar-eclipse-animals-pets-zoo.html">per The New York Times</a> — though other studies suggested they continued to sing, the Times reported.</p><p>Honeybees may also be seen tucking themselves into their hives, while moths and nighttime-migrating birds may take flight, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://news.syr.edu/blog/2024/04/02/experiencing-the-solar-eclipse-from-an-animals-perspective/#:~:text=By%20and%20large%2C%20researchers%20have,as%20most%20cicadas%2C%20may%20stop">a post</a> from the University of Syracuse.</p><p>Night-time vocalists like crickets and frogs, on the other hand, might see this as their time to shine, and their noises may start to rise as the eclipse reaches totality.</p><h2>Some animals may show signs of anxiety</h2><p>Another category of behaviors Hartstone-Rose spotted during 2017 the eclipse is stress.</p><p>One example, said the professor, is among giraffes.</p><p>"During the peak of the eclipse, the giraffes started running around like crazy and in a potentially dangerous way," Hartstone-Rose told BBC Science Focus.  </p><p>"In the wild, giraffes are pretty calm animals; they're kind of gangly and delicate. They really don't do crazy behavior unless they need to, and so the only time I've ever seen giraffes running around is if they're startled by a predator or maybe a vehicle or something like that," he said.</p><p>Thankfully, that behavior subsided as soon as the eclipse ended, he said.</p><p>Dogs have also been reported to look nervous during eclipses, some whimpering, some falling silent, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/04/us/solar-eclipse-animals-pets-zoo.html">per The Times</a>.</p><p>That may be more related to seeing their owners gathering in groups, sharing their excitement, and looking up at the sky in mass, than anything else, M. Leanne Lilly, a veterinary behaviorist at Ohio State's College of Veterinary Medicine, told The Times.</p><p>"That can make any of our domestic animals feel like things are not as safe and predictable as they are supposed to be," said Lilly.</p><p>The anxiety response to eclipses is "a bit more mysterious," said Hartstone-Rose to The Guardian.</p><p>"It could be the animals are aware of some kind of disparity going on. If it all of a sudden seems dark, my dog, who is very food motivated, would worry we'd forgotten a meal for him, so that might be going through some of these animals' heads," he said.</p><div type="image" title="Giraffe" height="2244" width="3500" msid="109135698" hostid="261" sizebytes="877508"></div><h2>Tortoises may start mating</h2><p>Among the most bizarre reactions Hartstone-Rose and colleagues spotted during the 2017 solar eclipse in the Riverbanks Zoo was a pair of particularly amorous Galapagos tortoises.</p><p>"They started mating behavior. They literally started breeding in front of our eyes," he told BBC Science Focus.</p><p>Other animals also started acting out. A male gorilla charged a glass enclosure and flamencos grouped closer together,<a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/07/eclipse-animal-behavior"> The Guardian reported.</a></p><p>Some siamang gibbons started screaming and barking in a way that had never been recorded before, per the BBC.</p><p>"We were able to statistically show that the vocalizations during the eclipse were significantly different than any other time we had ever been able to record their vocalization," Hartstone-Rose told the BBC. "That was pretty remarkable."</p><h2>Scientists are jumping on the opportunity to study eclipse animal behavior</h2><p>While these behaviors provide a rare snapshot of how sudden darkness can affect animals, there are surprisingly few studies looking at animal behavior during a solar eclipse, according to the University of Syracuse.</p><p>Among the reasons for this are that eclipses are rare, and short-lived, and studying the widespread behavior of animals is notoriously difficult.</p><p>Still, scientists have been gearing up to gather as much information as they can during the approximately <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/solar-eclipse-2024-times/#:~:text=Within%20the%20path%20of%20totality%2C%20darkness%20will%20fall%20for%20a,for%20more%20than%20two%20hours.">four minutes</a> the eclipse is due to last.</p><p>One such study is NASA's citizen science <a target="_blank" class="zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE " href="https://eclipsesoundscapes.org/"><u>Eclipse Soundscapes, </u></a>a recreation of century-old a large-scale study carried out during the 1932 eclipse. Volunteers registered with the study will be asked to log recordings, data, and their own experiences to a database.</p><p>Hartstone-Rose is also carrying out his own study during the cosmic event. Scientists and a group of volunteers will be studying animals at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas.</p><p>"For this one moment, on this one particular day, everybody is going to have this shared experience," Hartstone-Rose told The Guardian.</p><p>"There's something beautiful about that, and sharing it with our animal brethren just adds to it," he said.</p>

Wild animals and pets may start behaving strangely during today's solar eclipse

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/earthquake-rattles-new-york-city-new-jersey-2024-4">4.8 magnitude earthquake</a> struck the East Coast today, rattling communities from Southern NJ to upstate NY.</li><li>With just three days until the total solar eclipse, you might be wondering if these events are related.</li></ul><p>Did you feel that?</p><p>At 10:23 a.m. ET, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake rattled the East Coast, sending tremors across New Jersey, Philadelphia, New York, and Connecticut, and bringing many <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/travel-halts-new-york-following-earthquake-2024-4">New York travelers to a halt</a>.</p><p>This was a relatively <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-causes-earthquakes-2017-2">small quake</a>, and there have been no reports of injuries or infrastructure damage so far.</p><p>A quake of this size is "enough to rattle the walls, but generally not produce severe damage," said Kenneth Miller, a geologist at Rutgers University, in an e-mail statement.</p><div type="image" title="USGS map of earthquake in the northeastern US on 04/05/2024" height="684" width="612" msid="109073551" hostid="261"></div><p>This quake occurred on the Ramapo Border fault at an estimated depth of just over four miles, Miller said.</p><p>Earthquakes along this fault are not uncommon, but they're usually magnitude three or lower. Some aftershocks could be possible, but they'll be much smaller, he wrote.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/map-reveals-earthquake-risks-us-north-america-2020-4">Earthquakes on the East Coast</a> are rare because this region isn't located on a tectonic plate boundary: where two different plates meet.</p><p>Last year in New York, for example, there were only four earthquakes. Whereas in California, there were over 9,000, according to World Population Review.</p><p>With only three days until the total solar eclipse on April 8, many are wondering whether the eclipse could have triggered today's quake. Here's what science says about it.</p><h2>Solar eclipses do not cause earthquakes</h2><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-2024-total-solar-eclipse-cool-best-special-nasa-2024-1">Monday's solar eclipse</a> doesn't significantly affect Friday's earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey.</p><div type="image" title="Total solar eclipse" height="3652" width="5307" msid="109073553" hostid="261"></div><p>Some research suggests that a new moon — which is what gives rise to a solar eclipse because the moon is positioned between the Earth and the sun — can increase the likelihood of strong earthquakes by increasing tidal stress.</p><p>But "the tidal force is a small factor affecting earthquakes," <a target="_blank" href="https://epss.ucla.edu/people/faculty/729/">Lingsen Meng</a>, associate professor of geophysics at UCLA, told BI.</p><p>"Usually it's insignificant, and you really need to see through a lot of data to see some light correlations, and it only happens with the moon tide because the solar tide is too weak to have any remote possibility of affecting earthquakes," he said.</p><p>Plus, today's earthquake was too small for it to have been caused by the new moon, experts say.</p><p>"This is unrelated to the solar eclipse. Earthquakes of this size there's basically no correlation with celestial bodies," said Paul Earle, director of operations at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, during a briefing on Friday.</p><p>So while experiencing an earthquake three days before the solar eclipse is a rare and interesting phenomenon, it's also a random coincidence.</p>

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