April 8 solar eclipse: NASA is looking for volunteers to study the impact of the event

Next April 8, a Total solar eclipse It will pass over the heads of more than 30 million people north america. This event will start on South Pacific Ocean It will move towards the coast Mexico At 11:07 AM local time, it will then move towards United Stateand finally will depart along the Atlantic coast Canadaat 5:16 p.m. (Read: This is a five-metre-long aquatic reptile that lived 240 million years ago)

That time would be the perfect opportunity for a large-scale citizen science project conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (a pot) in which citizens who witness a solar eclipse can participate.

One of the projects is Eclipse Soundscapes It seeks to understand how this event affected different ecosystems. According to NASA, when darkness covers the scene during a total solar eclipse, such as the one we will witness, unusual things begin to happen. The agency states that some of what has been documented is that birds stop singing, crickets start chirping, and bees return to their hives, where they are “deceived by the false twilight.”

Reports of these atypical animal behaviors go back centuries, but the effects of the eclipse on plant and animal life are not fully understood. That's why NASA seeks to collect images and sounds during the eclipse. (Read: Exploring the Moon: What comes after the first landing on the Moon by a private company)

“We want to show that these events can be studied in a multi-sensory way, through sound, sensation and other forms of observation,” said Kelsey Perrett, communications coordinator for the Eclipse Soundscapes Project.

To achieve this, NASA needs volunteers willing to record audio or write accounts of what is seen, heard or felt during the eclipse. The project is particularly interested in knowing the behavior of cockroaches, to answer questions such as: Do nocturnal and diurnal animals behave differently or become more or less vocal during a solar eclipse?

“The more data and acoustic observations we have, the better we will be able to answer these questions. The contributions of the participating scientists will allow us to delve deeper into specific ecosystems and determine how the eclipse will affect each of them,” Perrett said.

How to get involved in the Eclipse Soundscapes project?

he Eclipse Soundscape Project It invites people to participate in the study at all levels (from learning about the eclipse online, to collecting multisensory observations and audio data, to analyzing the data) and in all locations. The project is open to people of all backgrounds and abilities. All roles are designed with accessibility in mind to invite people who are blind or visually impaired to participate alongside their sighted peers.

There are different ways to participate. One is “data collectors” using the AudioMoth, a low-cost audio recording device with a micro SD card, to capture the sounds of the eclipse. “Observers” are also needed to describe multisensory observations in writing and submit them to the project site after the eclipse.

Additionally, anyone with an Internet connection can participate as a “learner” learning about the eclipse or as a “data analyst” to help analyze audio data after the eclipse. After completing the Eclipse Soundscapes feature, a downloadable certificate will be available.

Detailed information about roles and registration links can be found here.