Monday's total eclipse of the sun won't be just any old eclipse; it's being referred to as the Great American Eclipse, because it's going through some very populated areas of the United States. Solar eclipses actually occur every 18 months or so, but during most of them the spectacle ...
it creates an artificial solar eclipse, you could say, when you’re looking through the telescope. This makes the Sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, much easier to observe. Now it’s true that whenever there’s a total eclipse of the Sun you can see the corona… that outer white ...
Partial eclipse begins(1st contact): The Moon becomes visible over the Sun's disk. It looks like the Moon has taken a bite out of the Sun. Total eclipse begins(2nd contact): The Moon covers the entire disk of the Sun, and observers are now within the Moon'sumbra, the darkest part o...
it creates an artificial solar eclipse, you could say, when you’re looking through the telescope. This makes the Sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, much easier to observe. Now it’s true that whenever there’s a total eclipse of the Sun you can see the corona… that outer white ...
What causes a solar eclipse? A solar eclipse is a rare event that occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun. There are three types of solar eclipse: Total solar eclipse– The moon completely covers the face of the sun. The sky darkens and the corona (the sun's outermo...
If you want to look directly at a solar eclipse, you're going to need some protective eyewear. You can view a total solar eclipse with your bare eyes, but only when the moon completely covers the face of the sun. And if you're really gung ho about looking up at the sun without spe...
What causes a partial lunar eclipse?A partial lunar eclipse happens when the moon doesn’t fully line up with Earth and the sun, meaning only part of the moon moves into Earth’s shadow. There are two parts of Earth’s shadow: the darkest inner part is called the umbra and the...
orbit of our moon, as well as the sun-moon size differential, during this rare solar eclipse, the moon casts a relatively small shadow on our planet. And, as our earth is spinning, the darkest area of that shadow, known as the “path of totality,” moves slowly across a given ...
On this page, you’ll discover what causes a solar eclipse, how often solar eclipses occur, and the different types of solar eclipse. You’ll also find out about umbras, coronas, Bailey’s beads, the difference between partial and total eclipses, paths of totality, annular eclipses, and ...
A total eclipse can only be seen in the narrow corridor known as the “path of totality” — or the “inner umbral shadow.” The area where the sun’s rays are only partially obscured is called the “penumbra.” Today the moon’s shadow falls across parts of North Africa, Europe and...