Help NASA Learn How Animals React To Total Solar Eclipses [Video]

NASA is conducting research on solar eclipses and how they affect wildlife—and the organization needs your help.

During partial or total solar eclipses, the moon shifts in front of the sun and blocks the light from hitting Earth. Because of that, animals and plant life react as though day abruptly turned to night. The birds stop singing, crickets begin chirping, coyotes begin to howl, and mammals lie down for sleep.

“When darkness sweeps across the landscape during a total solar eclipse, unusual things start happening,” NASA wrote in a press release, per FOX News.

Scientists at NASA are learning more about this phenomenon with the Eclipse Soundscapes (ES) Project.

ES first took off during an October annular eclipse last year. It return to the Wheeler study (1935), which researched wildlife during a 1932 total solar eclipse.

The Wheeler study included observations from a group of about 500 naturalists, game wardens, and members of the public. ES is working similarly by inviting more members …