#solar-eclipse

#solar-eclipse

"Granted, "[p]lants have extensive and well established mechanisms of communication, with that of volatiles being the most well studied and understood," he added. "There is also growing recognition that root exudates play a role in plant-plant interactions, though this is only now being deeply investigated. Nothing else, communication through mychorriza, has withstood independent investigation."

Stargazers looking ahead to February's highlights should make some time to look up not only during the night, but also during the day. In addition to the first solar eclipse of the year and a "planet parade," there's also have a historic crewed mission around the moon and one of your best shots at spotting the usually washed-out Mercury. Southern hemisphere stargazers may be able to spot fireballs from a minor shower early in the month.

Except for penguins and Antarctic scientists, few will be able to enjoy February's annular solar eclipse. That's because this eclipse will see the moon pass between the Earth and sun across the path of the southern continent, reaching a maximum at around 12:12pm UTC. People living in Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the southern parts of Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia, will only see a partial eclipse March 3.

Like the moon's shadow sweeping across the globe during a total solar eclipse, astronomy-focused tourism is taking the world by storm. And in 2026, there are plenty of celestial reasons to travel. You've likely already heard of the August 2026 total solar eclipse, which is undoubtedly the year's marquee event, but you can also travel for everything from rocket launches to meteor showers. These are the astronomy events that can turn trips into once-in-a-lifetime experiences-and where to go to see them at their best.

The duration of a total solar eclipse always varies. In April 2024, the eclipse that crossed North America lasted 4 minutes and 28 seconds. By contrast, the one that will reach Spain in August 2026 will only last 1 minute and 43 seconds. In less than two years, both will be put to shame by the longest conjunction of the century.

When a swathe of Europe goes dark for over two minutes during next summer's total solar eclipse, some lucky travelers will be able to watch the shadow of the moon sweep across a landscape of glaciers from the deck of their explorer yacht. That's thanks to expedition yacht charter specialists EYOS Expeditions, which unveiled a one-of-a-kind opportunity to charter a yacht to witness the eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026, from one of the world's most untamed wildernesses: East Greenland's Scoresby Sund.

When a total solar eclipse plunged North America into darkness on the afternoon of April 8, 2024, the songbirds in Bloomington, Ind., suddenly fell silent. In the middle of the forest, the only sounds biologist Kimberly Rosvall could hear were the croaks of nocturnal frogs and the distant howl of a coyote. But when sunlight returned after four minutes of night, the songs did, too, as hundreds of birds greeted the morning in unison with a cheerful dawn chorus.

The result of more than a year of planning and about a week of in-person scouting along the coast of Sinaloa, Mexico, a precisely timed portrait of a Magnificent frigatebird flying in front of a total solar eclipse was captured by Canadian photographer Liron Gertsman. Winner of the 2025 Bird Photographer of the Year competition, Gertsman's image demonstrates the effort and time that goes into documenting some of the world's most remarkable birds.

Our final eclipse of the season and of the year takes place on September 21, 2025. Eclipses are moments of transformation, whether the details make themselves known in the moment or reveal themselves at a later time. The solar eclipse in Virgo helps release old patterns from our bodies as well as old stories from our thoughts, especially those related to not being enough and feeling separate from the sacredness of life.

Rising in orderly and attentive Virgo, the new moon and solar eclipse on Sept. 21 might feel like it's drilling down into some familiar recent themes - as Virgo season has been dominating the cosmic landscape over the past month, and August's new moon also took place in this mutable earth sign's realm. Having back-to-back new moons in Virgo is a rare phenomenon, but this alignment allows for September's solar eclipse to flush any remaining unnecessary clutter out of your heart,

If you get a chance to see a total lunar eclipse, such as the one on September 7, 2025, go for it. This one in particular was visible to people in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. And it was spectacular!But don't worry if you missed it because there will be another four opportunities to witness a total lunar eclipse before the year 2030.

In the summer of 1999, I was a 19-year-old with an interest in astronomy, but no real idea of what I wanted to do with my life - then I saw my first total solar eclipse.