The Total Solar Eclipse expected for this month of April and which can be seen in almost all of North America goes beyond the possibility of visualizing the effects in the sky. Scientists want to take advantage of the opportunity to understand how animals react to the phenomenon.
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“Abnormal” behaviors
During eclipses, some animals act strangely, while others simply go into night mode. Species that are usually active during the day prepare to sleep, while those that are nocturnal wake up.
That’s why researchers will observe changes in the animals’ routine at the Fort Worth Zoo, in the American state of Texas. During the last total solar eclipse, in 2017, strange behaviors were observed in animals at a zoo in the state of South Carolina. Galapagos tortoises, for example, began to breed during the phenomenon, a behavior that has not yet been clarified by the science.
A pair of siamangs, gibbons that usually call each other in the morning, sang unusual songs during the eclipse. And some male giraffes began galloping with “apparent anxiety”, while flamingos huddled around their young.
Several other zoos and wildlife sanctuaries have organized events where visitors can observe how animals react to sudden changes in light and temperature. But to participate you must remain silent, as the animals are easily disturbed by loud noises.
In total, six U.S. zoos are in the path of this month’s total solar eclipse. They are: Cameron Park, in Texas; Little Rock, Arkansas; that of Indianapolis; the one in New York, as well as the one in Akron and Toledo, both in the state of Ohio.
These spaces prepared chats, expert lectures, educational presentations throughout the day, in addition to offering eclipse viewing glasses available for purchase. The information is from Space.com.
The eclipse
- On April 8th this year, the Moon will cover the Sun in a Total Solar Eclipse that can be seen from various regions of North America, allowing millions of people to observe the phenomenon, which results in an almost perfect coverage of the star. Unfortunately, the event will not be seen from Brazil.
- The phenomenon is the same as that recorded in 2017, but there are some differences.
- In the last event of this type, the Moon was a little further away from Earth, so the range where the phenomenon could be observed in its entirety varied from 100 to 115 kilometers wide.
- In what happens in April, this range will vary from 170 to 200 kilometers.
- This year’s Total Solar Eclipse will be visible in cities and more densely populated areas, allowing 31.6 million people to watch the phenomenon, compared to 12 million in 2017.
- In the 2017 eclipse, the longest period of totality occurred near Carbondale, Illinois and lasted 2 minutes and 42 seconds.
- In 2024, it will be longest near Torreón, Mexico, lasting about 4 minutes and 26 seconds.
- Durations longer than 4 minutes, however, will also occur up to close to the Canadian border, when the eclipse will last 3 minutes and 21 seconds;
- Another difference is that the year 2024 is closer to solar maximum, where the star’s activity is greatest.
- Therefore, when the Moon covers the Sun, it is very likely that fire snakes will appear in the stellar corona, unlike the simpler appearance in 2017.
