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... As a solar eclipse swept across North America on April 8, 2024, there was a lull in seismic vibrations across the continent, a new analysis shows -- at least in places where the spectacle stopped human observers in their tracks.

Seismic activity dipped during the eclipse in cities that were in the path of totality, where the moon completely masked the sun.

But that pattern did not appear in rural areas or cities outside the path of totality. This hints that the seismic changes were due to human hustle and bustle coming to a standstill during the eclipse, Benjamin Fernando reported April 17 at the Seismological Society of America annual meeting in Pasadena, Calif.

While Fernando watched the 2024 eclipse with friends in Cleveland, he was struck by how quiet the world seemed during the few minutes of totality. As a seismologist, he immediately wondered whether that sense of the world holding its breath would show up in seismic signals. ...