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Discover Nature: Total Solar Eclipse

Missouri Department of Conservation
The August new moon will pass between the Sun and the Earth such that it will temporarily block the Sun’s light and cast a shadow in the moon’s path across Missouri. ";s:
Credit Missouri Department of Conservation
A rare total solar eclipse will cast a shadow of the moon from northwest to southeast Missouri on Monday, August 21. This mid-day twilight will cause wildlife to react as if a brief night has fallen, followed by another dawning of the sun.

On summer evenings, as day turns to night, insects and wildlife undergo a routine changing-of-the-guard. This week on Discover Nature, we take a look at what to expect in nature as a rare total solar eclipse casts a shadow across the middle of Missouri.

On Monday, August 21, along a path from northwest to southeast Missouri, the sky will begin to darken into a mid-day twilight. Temperatures will drop by 10 to 15 degrees and wildlife will react to changing light and weather cues.

In the short span of total eclipse, day and night species will switch places.

A 1930's Journal of Science study from a total solar eclipse in New England found that mosquitos emerged in swarms and began biting, fish stopped eating, birds flew into nests, and honey bees swarmed hives before daylight disappeared.

After the sun returns, birds begin singing their morning chorus, roosters crow, and frogs begin croaking.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) offers many public viewing areas across the path of totality.

Plan your eclipse experience with an outdoor adventure to a public Conservation Area or Natural Area near you with a map and list of MDC viewing sites.

Discover Nature is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Trevor serves as KBIA’s weekday morning host for classical music. He has been involved with local radio since 1990, when he began volunteering as a music and news programmer at KOPN, Columbia's community radio station. Before joining KBIA, Trevor studied social work at Mizzou and earned a masters degree in geography at the University of Alabama. He has worked in community development and in urban and bicycle/pedestrian planning, and recently served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia with his wife, Lisa Groshong. An avid bicycle commuter and jazz fan, Trevor has cycled as far as Colorado and pawed through record bins in three continents.
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