• Josie Ford Josie Ford Feedback isNew Scientist’spopular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. • You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback by emailingfeedback@newscientist.com Astreenomers Feedback is shocked -shocked- to learn that a grove of trees in northern Italy did not, in fact, predict a solar eclipse. • Advertisement Now, we know what will be going through most readers’ heads at this point: “Are you saying somebody thought trees really could predict a solar eclipse?” To which the answer is “surprisingly, yes”. • The partial solar eclipse in question occurred on 25 October 2022. • Ahead of this, botanists led by Alessandro Chiolerio had inserted electrodes into Norway spruce trees to monitor their bioelectrical activity. • In April 2025, theyreportedtheir findings: “Trees anticipated the eclipse, synchronizing their bioelectrical behaviour hours in advance.
Article Summaries:
- New Scientist’s “Feedback” column reports that a 2025 study claimed Norway spruce trees in northern Italy had predicted the 25 October 2022 partial solar eclipse by showing bioelectrical changes hours in advance. The original authors, led by Alessandro Chiolerio, argued older trees displayed stronger anticipatory behaviour. However, a February 2025 paper in Trends in Plant Science refutes this, noting the eclipse’s light drop was too small to affect the trees, the short 18‑year eclipse cycle, and the limited sample size (three trees and five stumps). The debunkers also point to coincident lightning strikes as a plausible trigger for the observed electrical synchrony.
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