What is a solar and lunar eclipse?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

Astronomical knowledge is an interesting piece of general knowledge that a person needs to understand what is happening in the environment. We direct our eyes to the sky whenever dreams take possession of the mind. Sometimes some phenomena strike a person to the core. We will talk about such in our article, namely, what is a lunar and solar eclipse.

Although today the disappearance or partial concealment of the luminaries from our eyes does not cause such superstitious fear as among our ancestors, a special halo of mystery of these processes remains. Nowadays, science has facts that can be used to explain this or that phenomenon simply and easily. We will try to do this in today's article.

What is a solar eclipse and how does it happen?

A solar eclipse is a natural phenomenon that occurs as a result of the Earth's satellite eclipsing the entire solar surface or part of it facing observers located on the ground. At the same time, it is possible to see it only during the period of the new moon, when the part of the Moon turned to the planet is completelyis not illuminated, that is, it becomes invisible to the naked eye. We understood what an eclipse is, and now we will find out how it happens. An eclipse happens when the Moon is not illuminated by the Sun from the side visible on Earth. This is possible only in the growing phase, when the planet's satellite is near one of the two lunar nodes (by the way, the lunar node is the point of intersecting lines of two orbits, solar and lunar). At the same time, the lunar shadow on the planet has a diameter of no more than 270 kilometers. Therefore, the eclipse can be observed only in the place of the shadow band. In turn, the Moon, rotating in its orbit, maintains a certain distance between it and the Earth, which at the time of the eclipse can be completely different.

When do we observe a total solar eclipse?

You must have heard about the concept of a total eclipse. Here we will once again clearly define what a total solar eclipse is and what conditions are needed for it.

The moon's shadow falling on the Earth is a kind of spot of a certain diameter with a possible change in size. As we have already said, the diameter of the shadow does not exceed 270 kilometers, while the minimum figure approaches zero. If at this moment the observer of the eclipse finds himself in a dark band, he has a unique opportunity to become a witness to the complete disappearance of the Sun. At the same time, the sky becomes dark, with the outlines of stars and even planets. And around the previously hidden solar disk, the outline of the crown appears, which is impossible to see at normal times. A total eclipse lasts no more than a few minutes.

Helpsee and realize what a solar eclipse is, photos of this unique phenomenon presented in the article. If you decide to observe this phenomenon live, you must observe safety measures regarding vision.

This is the end of the information block, in which we learned what a solar eclipse is and what conditions are necessary to see it. Next, we have to get acquainted with the lunar eclipse, or, as it sounds in English, lunar eclipse.

What is a lunar eclipse and how does it happen?

A lunar eclipse is a cosmic phenomenon that occurs when the Moon falls into the shadow of the Earth. At the same time, as with the Sun, events can have several options for development.

Depending on some factors, a lunar eclipse can be total or partial. Logically, we can well assume what this or that term characterizing a particular eclipse means. Let's find out what a total lunar eclipse is.

How and when does a planetary satellite become invisible?

Such an eclipse of the Moon is usually visible where at the appropriate moment it is located above the horizon. The satellite is in the shadow of the Earth, but at the same time, a total eclipse is not able to completely hide the Moon. In this case, it is only slightly shaded, acquiring a dark, reddish tint. This is because, even being completely in the shade, the lunar disk does not cease to be illuminated by the sun's rays passing through the earth's atmosphere.

Our knowledge has been expanded with facts aboutwhat is a total eclipse of the moon. However, this is not all possible options for the eclipse of the satellite by the earth's shadow. The rest will be discussed later.

Partial Lunar Eclipse

As with the Sun, the obscuration of the visible surface of the Moon is often incomplete. We can observe a partial eclipse when some part of the Moon is in the Earth's shadow. This means that when part of the satellite is eclipsed, that is, obscured by our planet, then its second part continues to be illuminated by the Sun and remains well viewed by us.

The penumbral eclipse, which differs from other astronomical processes, will seem much more interesting and unusual. About what is a penumbral eclipse of the Moon, we will talk further.

Unique penumbral lunar eclipse

This type of eclipse of the Earth's satellite occurs a little differently than partial. From open sources or already from our own experience, it is easy to learn that there are areas on the surface of the Earth where the sun's rays are not completely obscured, which means they cannot be a shadow. But there is no direct sunlight here either. This is the penumbra area. And when the Moon, which has fallen into this very place, is in the penumbra of the Earth, we can observe a penumbral eclipse.

When it enters the penumbra, the lunar disk changes its brightness, becoming a little darker. True, such a phenomenon is almost impossible to notice and recognize with the naked eye. This will require specialappliances. It is also interesting that the dimming can be more noticeable from one edge of the Moon's disk. So we have finished the second main block of our article. Now we can easily explain ourselves what a lunar eclipse is and how it happens. But the interesting facts about solar and lunar eclipses do not end there. Let's continue the topic by answering some questions related to these amazing phenomena.

Which eclipses are more common?

After everything that we have learned from the previous parts of the article, the question naturally arises: which of the eclipses are we more likely to see in our lives? Let's also say a few words about this.

Unbelievable, but true: the number of eclipses of the Sun is greater, even though the Moon is smaller in size than the diameter of the Earth. After all, knowing what an eclipse is and why it occurs, one might think that the shadow from a larger object is more likely to block a smaller one than vice versa. Based on this logic, the size of the Earth allows you to hide the lunar disk in a jiffy. Nevertheless, it is precisely the eclipses of the Sun on the planet that happen more. According to the statistics of astronomers and observers, there are only three lunar eclipses for seven, solar, respectively, four.

The reason for the amazing statistics

The disks of the celestial bodies closest to us, the Sun and the Moon, are almost the same in diameter in the sky. This is the reason solar eclipses can occur.

Usually eclipses of the Sun fall during the period of the new moon, that is, when the Moon approaches its orbital nodes. And since the moon's orbit is not perfectround, and the nodes of the orbit move along the ecliptic, during favorable periods, the disk of the Moon on the celestial sphere can be either larger or smaller, or even equal to the solar disk.

In this case, the first case contributes to a total eclipse. The decisive factor is the angular size of the moon. At its maximum size, an eclipse can last up to seven and a half minutes. The second case implies complete shading for only seconds. In the third case, when the disk of the Moon is smaller than the solar one, a very beautiful eclipse occurs - annular. Around the dark disk of the Moon we see a shining ring - the edges of the solar disk. Such an eclipse lasts 12 minutes.

Thus, we have supplemented our knowledge of what a solar eclipse is and how it occurs with new details worthy of amateur researchers.

Eclipse factor: location of luminaries

An equally important reason for the eclipse is the uniform arrangement of the heavenly bodies. The Moon's shadow may or may not hit the Earth. And sometimes it happens that only a penumbra from an eclipse falls on the Earth. In this case, you can observe a partial, that is, an incomplete eclipse of the Sun, which we already talked about, even when we talked about what an eclipse of the Sun is. If a lunar eclipse can be observed from the entire night surface of the planet, from which the circle is visible lunar disk, then solar - only when you are in a narrow strip with an average width of 40-100 kilometers.

How often do you see eclipses?

Now that we know what an eclipse is and why there are more of them than others, there is one more exciting question: how often can these amazing phenomena be observed? After all, in our lives, each of us heard only one news about the eclipse, a maximum of two, someone - not a single one …

Despite the fact that a solar eclipse occurs more often than a lunar eclipse, it can still be seen in the same area (remember the strip with an average width of 40-100 kilometers) only once every 300 years. But a total lunar eclipse, a person can observe several times in his life, but only if the observer has not changed his place of residence throughout his life. Although today, knowing about the blackout, you can get anywhere and by any means of transport. Those who know what a lunar eclipse is will certainly not stop at a hundred or two kilometers of travel for an incredible spectacle. Today there are no problems with this. And if suddenly you received information about the next eclipse in some place, do not be lazy and spare no expense to get to the place of maximum visibility at the moment when you can observe the ongoing eclipse. Believe me, no distance compares to the experience.

Upcoming visible eclipses

You can learn about the frequency and schedule of eclipses from the astronomical calendar. In addition, significant events such as a total eclipse will certainly be talked about in the media. The calendar says that the next solar eclipse visible in the capital of Russia will take place on October 16, 2126. We also recall that the lastan eclipse in this area could be observed more than a hundred years ago - in 1887. So the inhabitants of Moscow will not have to observe a solar eclipse for many more years. The only opportunity to see an amazing phenomenon is to go to Siberia, to the Far East. There you can observe a change in the brightness of the Sun: it will only darken a little.

Conclusion

In our astronomical article, we tried to explain clearly and briefly what an eclipse of the Sun and Moon is, how these phenomena occur, how often they can be seen. The conclusion of our research in this area: the eclipse of different celestial bodies occur according to different principles and have their own characteristics. But understanding some of the details necessary for the average person's full knowledge of the environment is very important.

In our time, thanks to advanced science and technology, a luminary that went out for a while no longer frightens at all, but remains just as enticingly mysterious. Today we know what a lunar and solar eclipse is and what they bring us. Let now interest in them be purely cognitive as a rare outlandish phenomenon. Also, in the end, we wish you to see at least one eclipse with your own eyes!