Insider Blog

While millions of people will look to the skies for Monday’s total eclipse the animals around us aren’t tuned in to the news, though they might still have some reactions. The sudden onset of darkness in the middle of the day can throw off the natural rhythm and sleeping patterns of wildlife and cause some

There are several ways to view the eclipse with filtered sunglasses or through a protected camera, and you can find more details in previous Insiders. You can also project the shape of the eclipse onto the ground by making your own kind of lens, which is surprisingly easy to do! Creating a pinhole projector takes

While you’re grabbing filtered sunglasses to view the upcoming eclipse don’t forget to get extra gear if you’re trying to snag some good photos. Taking good shots of faraway objects in space is difficult and the lighting changes dramatically during an eclipse. Before anything, you should never look at the eclipse directly even in totality,

It’s a hard temptation to resist when scientists say to avoid looking at a rare natural phenomenon. But if you want to keep viewing wonderful acts of nature, you need to protect your eyes during an eclipse. You should NEVER look at the sun directly, even when the moon is fully covering it. Even in

April 8th marks the passing of the total solar eclipse across portions of Southeastern Missouri. This will be the last total solar eclipse until August of 2044 making for an exciting opportunity to see first hand this event. An eclipse occurs as the moon aligns perfectly between the sun and the earth. Areas located across

This spring, meteorologist everywhere will be glued to radars to help keep you informed on what is going on in your area. These days, radars have came a long way and can offer more usable data than ever before. Radars emit a radio wave into the atmosphere at a small angle. This radio wave then

Climatologists are aware of how the climate is changing and are growing more confident in what we can attribute these changes to. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) now says that human influence on the climate is “unequivocal” and evidence for this has only grown in recent years. While it’s clear that human activity

It has been an increasing green screen across much of Mid-Missouri thanks to ahead of schedule tree leafing. This is due to the latest rainfall and well above average temperatures we have seen the last several weeks. The first leaves seen in Missouri are well ahead of schedule with this years first leaves arriving during

March 19th marks the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This is also known as the spring or vernal equinox. This marks the first day astronomical spring falling 18 days behind meteorological spring. Seasons occur for everyone across the entirety of the earth due to its 23.5 degree tilt on its axis. Depending

Temperatures this past Sunday night bottomed out at 24 degrees for the city of Columbia. If you have taken a stroll through most wooded areas around Mid-Missouri, you probably noticed a short period of flowers blooming. This early on-sent of pre mature blooming and budding has put plants at risk of damages from these cooler

Weather disasters are on the rise and affecting more of the population and property as a result. The number of billion-dollar disasters in a single year has increased from single digits at the start of the century to several dozen as we began the 2020s. Of all these disasters flooding is an associated threat in