In a controversial study published in April last year, researchers described an astonishing phenomenon: a forest of Norway spruce trees (Picea abies) appeared to ‘sync’ their electrical signaling ahead of a partial solar eclipse. Now there’s a new theory about what was actually going on. Having examined the data, ecologists Ariel Novoplansky and Hezi Yizhaq from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel propose an explanation that’s not quite as sensational. Novoplansky and Yizhaq suggest that the electrical activity seen in the trees was caused by a temperature drop, a passing thunderstorm, and several local lightning strikes; factors that previous research has shown can trigger similar signaling responses in plants.