Over four minutes of total solar eclipse in Texas when, starting from 2.40 pm (8.40 pm in Italy), the landscape became dark as night. Temperatures in the area dropped, going from stifling humidity to cold in a matter of minutes.
Meanwhile, according to what a member of the Dallas Zoo staff told CNN after observing the behavior of the animals as the eclipse passed, the flamingos gathered together in the middle of the pond and so did the penguins to protect themselves.
L’Total eclipse is visible in 15 US states, now in Midwestern cities and towns. After Texas, Missouri and Indiana, the sun was eclipsed in Ohio, in Dayton at 3.09pm (local time). The eclipse therefore also arrived in Cleveland, at 3.13 pm, and in Akron a minute later. The path of the astronomical phenomenon then moved on Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Newfoundland for a few more minutes.
Data collection, thousands of volunteers will help NASA
Among the tens of millions of Americans who observed the solar eclipse today, many after traveling to one of the 15 states from which it was possible to see it, there are thousands of volunteers who will help NASA collect data on the astronomical event. The Eclipse Soundscapes Project is the name of the project launched by NASA to collect observations from the public regarding the reactions of animals and humans to the event.
Project participants must compile a report regarding what they observed, listened to and felt including audio recordings of the surrounding environment. About 2,500 people took part, Kelset Perrett, communications coordinator for the project, explained to CNN that in the afternoon she hoped the number would increase.
“The more the merrier, the more people participate, the more we can answer questions about the impact of the solar eclipse on life on our planet”, he added, underlining that scientists are particularly interested in studying the reaction of crickets and other nocturnal insects to any sounds emitted when the moon aligned with the sun and obscured it.
