Research shows that during total solar eclipses, some animals change their behavior to match their nighttime activities.

Animals get SAD—especially those in zoos, like pandas

Giant pandas in locations outside their evolved latitudinal range (from southeast Asia to northern regions around Beijing) exhibit more sluggish behavior, even when they were born there. Researchers have observed that similar sensitivities to "photoperiods" (or time with light) impacts many animals, including birds, insects, and our pets. (Nautilus imposes a metered paywall.)

Global eclipse tourism is a multibillion-dollar industry, with the 2024 total solar eclipse across North America estimated to have generated $6B in economic activity across regions along its path.

Solar eclipses are a cosmic coincidence because the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun but about 400 times closer to Earth, allowing it to block sunlight for those on Earth within its shadow.

Because the half of Earth that faces the sun is larger than the area of the shadow cast by the moon during a solar eclipse, observers may experience a total, annular, or partial eclipse.

While solar eclipses were considered ominous throughout history, multiple cultures explained the celestial event as the result of mythical creatures nearly consuming the sun.

Some maps may incorrectly identify the boundaries of a solar eclipse's totality because they assume the Earth is a smooth surface.

Some animals seem to live well on little sleep

African bush elephants typically sleep for about 2 hours per 24-hour day, coming in well under a human's recommended seven-hour minimum. Other animals also appear to skimp on sleep, by human standards, without the consequences humans associate with being sleep deprived. This academic article details the sleeping habits of animals that appear to thrive on fewer than 40 winks and explores whether their sleep processes are just built different.

Stress affects different animals in different, but useful, ways

Animals feel stress when they experience actual dangers—such as a zebra chased by a lion. Humans often feel stress from worries, memories, or even thoughts about problems that may occur in the future. For this reason, animals tend to experience stress in short, intense bursts. Conversely, people can feel stressed for long periods, which can eventually be harmful to their health.

Over thousands of years, the frequency of solar eclipses is greatest around the Arctic and Antarctic Circles and lowest near the equator.

Eclipse glasses protect the eyes from overexposure to the sun's ultraviolet, blue, and infrared light, as a person's instinct to look away from the sun is diminished when it's partly blocked.

Just as directly observing a solar eclipse without protective glasses can cause permanent eye damage, photographing an eclipse requires a specialized filter to prevent damaging your camera.

Animal brain studies show brain activity similar to what we'd expect during dreams, but parsing whether animals are truly dreaming depends on how one defines dreaming and how scientists could prove it.

Every eclipse is preceded or followed by another eclipse, separated by about two weeks and alternating between solar and lunar types.

Blood moons only occur during total lunar eclipses, when the Earth blocks the sun, but its atmosphere lets redder parts of sunlight through to reflect off the lunar surface.

Electric grids that rely on solar power must compensate for reduced electricity generation during solar eclipses.

The first scientifically useful photograph of a total solar eclipse was taken in Königsberg, Prussia, on July 28, 1851, using a silver-coated copper plate with a light-sensitive chemical layer.

Zoo animals have developed allergies, too

Although scientists do not know if allergies manifest among wild animals—and if animals can survive with them—in a zoo setting, veterinarians have observed zoo animals with common allergy symptoms, including itchiness, crusty skin, and runny eyes. Veterinarians have identified Asian elephants with pollen allergies and at least one jaguar with an allergy to fleas.

While the sun, moon, and stars rise and set from east to west due to Earth's rotation, the moon's eastward revolution around the Earth causes its shadow to move from west to east during a solar eclipse.

Noise pollution from humans and technology alters animal behavior

Animals may experience chronic stress and health issues due to noise pollution, which often interferes with their mating sounds. Due to traffic, nightingales sing louder on weekday mornings, and birds near airports start singing earlier to avoid upticks in takeoffs and landings.

Just before and just after a total solar eclipse, sunlight can pass through uneven terrain on the lunar surface, producing disconnected bits of light around the moon called Baily's beads.

Yawning helps regulate heat in and around the skull

All vertebrates, including solitary animals, exhibit yawning behavior, and, despite long-standing beliefs, studies show no correlation between yawning and oxygen levels. Contagious yawning may enhance group coordination and vigilance in animals and involves advanced social cognitive mechanisms.

The Chernobyl exclusion zone has become a unique wildlife refuge

Within the area—roughly the size of Yosemite National Park—animals such as wolves, bears, and feral dogs descended from the pets left behind have gradually adapted to low-level radiation. Eastern tree frogs in the area have darker skin than usual, which may have helped protect them from ionizing radiation.

Similarities between human and animal sleep

Have you ever noticed the wide-ranging differences in sleep between humans and animals? Sleep as a necessity is present amongst all animal species, but the specific patterns of sleep vary widely. Just think of the differences between how an owl, a whale, and a horse might sleep. This helpful resource from the Sleep Foundation explores the relations between human and animal sleep, complete with some fascinating statistics about sleep patterns throughout the animal kingdom!

Researches have found that various monkeys have pet-like relationships with other species.

Light pollution is giving oysters insomnia

Oysters, bivalve mollusks that have light-detecting cells along their skin, can't sleep with all this artificial light. According to a 2022 study, oysters' sleep cycles are disturbed by light dimmer than that provided by the full moon. As with humans, it's possible that these bouts of insomnia could have adverse health effects and contribute to the development of disease over time.

Extreme heat is neurologically impairing animals

Dog bites increase in summer, birds struggle to learn, and goats pick more fights. Scientists are unraveling new details about how heat impairs animals' neurological systems.

Nine different studies exploring animals' relationship to music

Researchers have conducted multiple studies attempting to answer a certain question: do animals like human music? Across species, they observed different results and no clear pattern. Primates appear to prefer silence, and cockatoos appear to dance to funky beats.

Scientists validated Albert Einstein's theory of gravity by measuring the apparent positions of stars via their starlight as it traveled near the sun on its way to Earth during a total solar eclipse.

The majority of exoplanets—planets outside the solar system—have been discovered through mini-eclipses created when they pass in front of their host star and block some of its light from reaching Earth.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

View photographs of solar eclipses on Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn caused by the moons of these planets blocking sunlight.

The impacts of the solar maximum on Earth, from telecommunications to auroras

During the peak of the sun's 11-year cycle, plasma emissions stronger than the average stream of particles from the sun can compress and distort the Earth's magnetic field, allowing auroras to be seen farther from the poles. Distortions in the ionized layer of Earth's atmosphere can also alter the path of communication transmissions through the air. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

One theory claims the retinae of SAD patients may fail to adjust to less light in winter

Most people’s eyes become more sensitive to light in the winter months, but some do not. This failure to adjust causes ripple effects on those individuals’ biological clocks. This Ted-ED video provides a clear, brief, narrative explanation of the condition in six minutes.

Fireflies light up to provide mating signals and warnings to predators

Variations in the illumination patterns and flight paths while emitting light have been observed across firefly species. Some species instead rely on pheromones if they are primarily active during the day or have lost the ability to illuminate.

Some dinosaurs evolved night vision and acute hearing for nocturnal hunting

Paleontologists analyzed the fossilized eye and ear structures of 16 theropods, finding that some had owl-like hearing and huge pupils. These characteristics are consistent with modern-day nocturnal species, including nightjars and geckos.