Nothing about a solar eclipse is normal: Wherever totality can be seen, it only appears in that location once every several hundred years. For that reason, it’s been impossible for scientists to gather and aggregate data in any reliable manner about how nature reacts to a sudden period of darkness in the middle of the afternoon. So as eclipse-mania grips people planning to travel on April 8th to be in that special path, researchers are particularly excited explore how birds, bees, zoo animals, and even trees respond to a sudden period of darkness in the middle of the day (Spoiler: apparently, even photosynthesis can be affected!)
