Features made visible during the eclipse edit
Total solar eclipses represent a unique opportunity to study the sun's corona from Earth, as the sun's brightness and the atmospheric scattering of that brightness otherwise overwhelms attempts to visualize the corona. Also visible from Earth to the unaided eye were many solar prominences, as well as several bright stars and the planets Venus and Jupiter. (https://www.livescience.com/space/the-sun/6-strange-things-observed-during-the-april-8-solar-eclipse-from-doomed-comets-to-diamond-rings) Observers using long-exposure photography were able to capture images of the planets Mercury, Mars, and Saturn plus two comets during the eclipse, comets SOHO-5008 and 12P/Pons Brooks. (https://earthsky.org/tonight/12-p-comet-pons-brooks-outburst-millennium-falcon-bright-2024-eclipse/) and (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240417.html) Many observers might have noticed things taking on a red or violet hue during totality. This is the result of the purkinje effect, which is related to how the different photoreceptors function in the retina. (https://www.livescience.com/space/the-sun/6-strange-things-observed-during-the-april-8-solar-eclipse-from-doomed-comets-to-diamond-rings) Birds have an additional photoreceptor that humans do not have. Therefore it remains unknown whether they were more profoundly affected than humans by the purkinje effect. Many animal observers noted that birds exhibited more unusual behaviors during the eclipse than other animals. (cit from animal section)
Aurorae edit
Solar wind, consisting of ionized particles released by the sun, are normally deflected toward the Earth's polar regions by the Earth's magnetic field. When the ionized particles reach the Earth's upper atmosphere, they interact with atmospheric gas molecules, primarily oxygen and nitrogen, causing them to briefly enter an excited state. The gas molecules emit light and other electromagnetic radiation as they settle back to their neutral state. This light is what we see during auroral displays. During geomagnetic storms, the Earth's magnetic field becomes distorted, and the ionized particles of the solar winds are directed to lower latitudes, causing aurorae to be visible in regions where they normally are not seen. Geomagnetic storms are associated with coronal mass ejections (CME's), which are especially dense eruptions of ionized particles. When they reach the Earth's atmosphere, the auroral displays can be particularly intense, as well as widespread.