North American eclipse 2024: How scientists will study it
BBCNorth American eclipse 2024: How scientists will study it Getty Images Rockets, planes, balloons and countless observers on the ground will be studying the North American total solar eclipse on 8 April in unprecedented detail. Locations in the path of totality will be plunged into darkness for no more than four minutes, but that is enough to perform some of the rarest of science experiments, with scientists hoping to observe the Sun's atmosphere – its corona – as it dances around the Moon, the reaction of wildlife to the celestial event, and even launching rockets to observe how Earth's atmosphere reacts. "I'm looking forward to listening to a lot of humans experiencing an eclipse for the first time and the sounds of excitement they make," says Winter. Getty Images In 2017, giant Galapagos tortoises reacted dramatically to the eclipse –seeing it as a cue to mate "This is going to be a much bigger eclipse in terms of people heading towards the path of totality," says Peticolas.