If this August 12, 2026 you are going to see a solar eclipse for the first timemaybe, when the time comes, you don’t know very well where to look. It’s normal. The show is in heaven, so it is logical that we get our approved glasses and let’s fix our eyes on the Sun during the partiality. Later, when totality arrives, we know that structures of the star that we normally do not see will appear, so the impulse is to take off our glasses, which at that moment are no longer necessary, and continue looking at the Sun. Once totality ends, you put your glasses back on and continue looking at the Sun. Great, you have seen the center of the eclipse, but you have not observed everything that is happening around you.
In reality, a solar eclipse is a unique phenomenon because of everything it entails on a global level. The Sun looks like we have never seen it before, but there is also changes in light, shadows, colors, temperature, animal behavior… It is important that we also look at all this, but of course, we do not have all the time in the world. Therefore, it is essential that we keep an action plan in mind, with all the checks What we want to do during the time the eclipse lasts. This is actually a matter of taste. You may enjoy the Sun more, the shadows, the behavior of animals or everything at the same time. Look wherever you want, but it’s good that you know everything the eclipse can offer you. Here is a list of ideas to choose your ideal observation protocol.
What is in the Sun
A solar eclipse occurs when what is known as first contact occurs. At that moment, the Moon begins to hide the Sun, as if it had taken a small bite. It is the beginning of partiality and it is important to see it with approved glasses on.
Little by little, the Moon engulfs the Sun and we no longer see just a small bite, but an increasingly larger bite. When there is hardly any sunlight left, the Baily beadsa series of circles that surround the Sun as if it had been adorned with a pearl necklace. This is because sunlight filters through the Moon’s irregularities, so you see a lot of little balls. However, when there is hardly any light left, only a bright, somewhat larger ball known as diamond ring
Immediately afterwards totality begins. As long as we are within the range in which the Moon will completely hide the Sun, of course. At the beginning of this, you can see the chromospherean area of the solar atmosphere that looks like a red arc. This lasts very few seconds and is not always visible. The ideal is to have your eyes well adapted to the darkness, for example by wearing sunglasses before the eclipse, as eclipse hunter Leo Hernández did in the last total solar eclipse he has seen so far. He told us recently in an interview.
Once the chromosphere is no longer visible, the solar corona appears. You can detect it as a white, filamentous halo that surrounds the black ball of the Moon, covering the Sun. Totality can last between a few seconds and a few minutes and, then, everything we have seen begins to happen, but in the opposite order.
diamond ring
The solar eclipse beyond the Sun
In addition to everything we have seen, there are many details that we can observe in a solar eclipse if we look around us. It is not necessary to keep your eyes fixed on the Sun all the time.
The temperature
When totality occurs, the temperature drops sharply. There is nothing to “see” there, it is only necessary to feel. But it’s good to be prepared for that feeling. This way it won’t come as news to us and we can pay more attention to it.
nature
During a solar eclipse, many animals change their behavior. There have been cases of turtles mating, cattle returning to their stables, crickets beginning to chirp, owls hooting, or giraffes fleeing for fear of becoming prey to a nocturnal predator.
There are also plants that open or close when it is not yet touching. All due to the fact that light is essential in the circadian rhythms of living beings, so that its absence during the day becomes an abnormality and a source of physiological conflict.
The sky beyond the sun
It is logical that we look at the sky during a solar eclipse, but the ideal is not to focus our gaze only on the Sun. If everything goes well and there is no light pollution, some stars may appear and bright planets in the sky. It is curious how the firmament makes an appearance during the day, so it is also worth extending your gaze due to its immensity.
The shadows
The shadows are different during a solar eclipse, especially in the last moments of the partiality. To begin with, although they are usually seen with more blurred edges, at this time They look much clearer. This is because, if sunlight normally arrives in many directions, as it comes from a large round disk, during a very advanced partial solar eclipse there is only a very thin strip of light, like a kind of crescent. As a result, under normal conditions, when an object blocks the light and a shadow is formed, there may be many fragments of the solar disk blocked, so that a diffuse transition between the sun and the shadow is formed. In an eclipse, on the other hand, the light comes from a much more specific point, so that transition does not occur.
On the other hand, during an advanced partial solar eclipse they are seen under the leaves of the trees. a kind of shadows in the shape of small crescents. These are due to pinhole effectwhich occurs when light passes through a hole and reflects off the surface on the other side, like a camera. The gaps between the branches and leaves are like small holes, which is why many reflections of the Sun occur on the ground. When the Sun is fully visible, they have a circular shape and do not attract as much attention, as they blend in with other shadows. On the other hand, during an eclipse, when there is only one band of light, they look like crescents, which are much more striking. Don’t forget to look under the trees during the solar eclipse.
The colors
As Leo Hernández also explains in the interview, as the sunlight goes down, the colors acquire tones that we have not seen. The reddish tones disappear first, while the green and blue tones remain longer, so we see everything around us very different from how it was a few minutes before. This is due to Purkinje effecta phenomenon by which the color sensitivity of the human eye changes depending on the intensity of light. Specifically, perception shifts toward shorter wavelengths, so blues become saturated and reds are attenuated.
With all this, you already know that, during a solar eclipse, you can look at the Sun, but also at the sky, the plants, the animals, the colors, the shadows and the ground under the trees. Everything is different and unique, as it impacts each person in a different way. Don’t forget to think about your action plan. It takes just a few minutes to not be clear where to look.
Image | Rob Margetta, NSF | Scritch314
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