But it will be a penumbral lunar eclipse, meaning only Earth’s outer shadow will obscure the moon.The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. This year there will be a lunar eclipse on 24 March, two weeks before the 8 April solar eclipse. Since eclipses are caused when Earth and the sun and moon line up in a row – in what is called syzygy – a solar eclipse is always accompanied by a lunar eclipse, either two weeks before or after. But they don’t happen every full moon, because our moon’s orbit is tilted around Earth compared to Earth’s orbit around the sun. These events always occur during the moon’s full phase, when the moon is on the opposite side of the planet from the sun. What is a lunar eclipse?Ī lunar eclipse happens when the moon moves through the shadow Earth casts into space. But for a given spot on the planet, total eclipses of the sun are only seen every 400 years or so, since the portion of Earth from which each total eclipse is visible is so small. Total solar eclipses happen, on average, every 18 months. Read more How often do solar eclipses occur?Įach year, between two and five solar eclipses are visible somewhere around the world. The penumbra covers a much greater area, and in those places viewers will be able to see a partial solar eclipse. But the path of totality can be as narrow as 150 kilometres. On 8 April, this path will be 185 kilometres wide, stretching across North America from Mexico, through the US and Canada. During a total eclipse, the path of totality is the stretch of land within the umbra. The outer partial shadow is known as the penumbra here, only light that has come from part of the sun’s disc can reach. The middle part of the shadow, where no light reaches, is called the umbra. This is a total solar eclipse.ĭuring an eclipse of the sun, the moon casts two shadows. When the two line up perfectly during the new moon lunar phase – when the moon sits between Earth and the sun – the moon can block out the entirety of the sun’s light. By sheer cosmic coincidence, the moon and the sun appear the same size in the sky because the moon is about 400 times as small as the sun, but the sun is about 400 times as far away. There are many kinds of solar eclipse, but each happens when the moon passes in front of the sun, blocking out some or all of its light as viewed from a specific part of the planet. The 8 April eclipse will last 4 minutes and 27 seconds. This part of an eclipse can last for up to 7.5 minutes. When viewed from the path of totality – the stretch of Earth that will see the total eclipse – the sun all but disappears. Technically, total solar eclipses are occultations of the sun by the moon.Ī total solar eclipse happens when the moon and sun line up perfectly, such that the moon moves in front of the sun and blocks out nearly all of its light. When one celestial body is obscured from view by another body that moves in between, astronomers refer to the event as an “occultation”. So now is as good a time as any to ask: what exactly is a solar eclipse? A total solar eclipse will soon grace the skies across parts of Central and North America, with some locations outside the path of totality able to see a partial eclipse of the sun. There is nothing quite like the darkness that descends and the excitement that ripples through the crowd. People travel thousands of miles to see eclipses. Eclipses happen due to an amazing cosmic coincidence that means the moon appears as large as the sunĬhancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |