What is the solar eclipse and the lunar eclipse?

Astronomical knowledge is an interesting part of the general knowledge necessary for a person to understand what is happening in the environment. Our eyes to the sky we strive every time when dreams get mastered by reason. Sometimes some phenomena affect a person to the depth of his soul. We will talk about these in our article, namely, what is a lunar and solar eclipse.

Although today the disappearance or partial concealment of luminaries from our eyes does not cause such superstitious fear as our ancestors, a special aura of mystery of these processes is preserved. Nowadays science has the facts with which help to explain this or that phenomenon can be simple and accessible. We will try and we will do it in today's article.

What is a solar eclipse and how does it happen?

Solar eclipse is a natural phenomenon that occurs as a result of the fact that the Earth's satellite is obscured by the whole solar surface or a part of it facing the observers on the ground. At the same time, it is possible to see it only during the new moon period, when the part of the moon turned to the planet is not fully illuminated, that is, it becomes invisible to the naked eye. What is an eclipse, we understood, and now we will find out how it happens.

The 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 satellite of the planet 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 moon's shadow on the planet has a diameter of no more than 270 kilometers. Therefore, to observe the eclipse is possible only in the place of the shadow strip. In turn, the Moon, orbiting, maintains some distance between it and the Earth, which at the time of the eclipse can be completely different.

When we see a total solar eclipse?

About the concept of a total eclipse, you probably heard. Here we once again clearly indicate what a total solar eclipse is and what conditions are necessary for it.

The shadow of the Moon that falls to Earth is a certain 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, the minimum indicator is approaching zero. If at that moment the eclipse observer finds himself in a dark strip, he has a unique opportunity to witness the complete disappearance of the Sun. Thus the sky becomes dark, with outlines of stars and even planets. And around the previously hidden from the eyes of the solar disk appears the outline of the crown, which at the usual time can not be seen. Total eclipse has a duration of not more than a few minutes.

Help to see and realize what a solar eclipse, photos of this unique phenomenon, presented in the article. If you decide to watch live for this phenomenon, you need to follow security measures regarding vision.

To this we have completed an 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?

The lunar eclipse is a cosmic phenomenon that occurs when the moon falls into the shadow of the Earth. In this case, as with the Sun, events can have several variants of development.

Depending on some factors, the lunar eclipse can be complete and partial. Logically, we can well imagine what this term means, which characterizes a particular eclipse. We will learn what a total lunar eclipse is.

How and when does the satellite become less noticeable?

Such an eclipse of the Moon is usually visible where it is located at the appropriate moment above the horizon. The satellite is in the shadow of the Earth, but at the same time a total eclipse is not able to hide the moon completely. In this case, it is only slightly shaded, acquiring a dark, reddish hue. This is because, even when 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 expanded with facts about what a total eclipse of the moon is. However, these are not all possible variants of eclipse of the satellite by the earth's shadow. On the rest, and we will talk.

Partial lunar eclipse

As in the case of the Sun, the dimming of the visible surface of the Moon often occurs incomplete. Partial eclipse we can observe in the event that only some part of the Moon appears in the shadow of the Earth. This means that when part of the satellite is eclipsed, that is shaded by our planet, then the second part of it continues to be illuminated by the Sun and remains well viewed by us.

Much more interesting and unusual is a half-shadow eclipse, which differs from other astronomical processes. About what the eclipse of the moon is half-shadow, we'll talk further.

Unique half-shadow lunar eclipse

This type of eclipse of the satellite of the Earth appears a little differently, rather than partial. From open sources or already from own experience it is easy to learn that on the surface of the Earth there are areas where the sun's rays are not completely obscured, and therefore can not be a shadow. But the passage of direct sunlight is not here. This is the penumbra. And then when the Moon, which got to this very place, is in the penumbra of the Earth, we can observe a half-shadow eclipse.

When you hit the penumbra, the moon disc changes its brightness, becoming a bit darker. True, it is almost impossible to notice and recognize this phenomenon with the naked eye. For this, special devices will be needed. It is also interesting that from one side of the Moon's disc, the blackout can be noticeable.

So we finished the second main block of our article. Now we can easily explain what a lunar eclipse is and how it happens. But interesting facts about the solar and lunar eclipses do not end there. Let's continue the topic, answering some questions related to these amazing phenomena.

What are the eclipses more often?

After all that we learned from the previous parts of the article, the question naturally arises: which of the eclipses do we have a better chance of seeing in our lives? We will also say a few words about this.

Incredible, but true: the number of eclipses of the Sun is greater, although the Moon is smaller in size than the diameter of the Earth. After all, knowing what an eclipse is and why it happens, you might think that the shadow from a larger object is likely to block the smaller one, rather than vice versa. Based on this logic, the size of the Earth makes it possible to hide the lunar disk in two counts.
Nevertheless, it is the eclipses of the Sun on the planet that happen more. According to the statistics of astronomers and observers, seven eclipses have only three lunar, solar, respectively, four.

The reason for amazing statistics

The disks of the celestial bodies nearest to us, the Sun and the Moon, in the sky in diameter are almost identical. It is for this reason that solar eclipses can occur.

Usually eclipses of the Sun fall on the period of the new moon, that is, when the Moon approaches its orbital nodes. And since the orbit of the moon is not perfectly round, and the orbit nodes move along the ecliptic, in 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 the maximum size, an eclipse can last up to seven and a half minutes. The second case implies total shading for only seconds. In the third case, when the disk of the Moon is less than the solar one, a very beautiful eclipse occurs-ring-shaped. Around the dark disk of the Moon we see a radiant ring - the edges of the solar disk. This eclipse lasts 12 minutes.

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

Eclipse factor: the location of the stars

An equally important reason for the eclipse is the uniform location of the celestial bodies. The shadow of the moon can fall or not fall on the Earth. And sometimes it happens that only half a shadow of the eclipse gets to Earth. In this case, one can observe a partial, that is, an incomplete eclipse of the Sun, of which we have already spoken, even when we were told about the eclipse of the sun.

If the lunar eclipse can be observed from the entire nighttime surface of the planet from which the circle of the lunar disk is visible, then the solar eclipse is only when you are in a narrow band with an average width of 40-100 kilometers.

How often can you see eclipses?

Now that we know what an eclipse is and why some are more than others, there is another exciting question: how often can you observe these amazing phenomena? After all, for our lives, each of us heard only one news about the eclipse, a maximum of two, someone - not one ...

Despite the fact that the solar eclipse occurs more often than the lunar eclipse, it is still possible to see it only once in 300 years, even in the same area (remembering a strip of an average width of 40-100 kilometers). But a full lunar eclipse, a person can observe several times in his life, but only if he has not changed his place of residence throughout his life. Although today, knowing about the blackout, you can get anywhere and any transport. Those who know what a lunar eclipse is, probably will not stop before a hundred or two kilometers of the road for the sake of an incredible spectacle. Today there are no problems with this. And if you suddenly received information about the next eclipse in some place, do not be too lazy and do not take the money to get to the place of maximum visibility at the moment when you can observe the eclipse. Believe me, no distance can compare with the received impressions.

Nearest Visible Eclipses

The periodicity and the schedule for the appearance of eclipses can be learned from the astronomical calendar. Moreover, it will be necessary to talk about significant events like a total eclipse in the media. The calendar says that the next visible eclipse of the Sun in the Russian capital will be October 16, 2126. Recall also that the last eclipse in this territory could be observed more than a hundred years ago - in 1887. So that Moscow residents 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 the change in brightness of the Sun: it will only darken a little.

Conclusion

Our astronomical article, we tried to understand clearly and briefly what is the eclipse of the sun and the moon, 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 to understand some of the details necessary for a full knowledge of the average person about the environment is very important.

Nowadays, thanks to the developed science and technology, the extinguished light for a time already does not scare, but it remains equally enticing mysterious. Today we know what a lunar eclipse is and sunny and what they bring to us. Let now interest to them will be purely cognitive as to a rare outlandish phenomenon. Also, finally, we wish you to see at least one eclipse with your own eyes!