Solar Eclipses

Nothing 'near' about it. It must be New Moon in order for a solar eclipse to occur.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow, which can only occur when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun - which would normally be when we would see a Full Moon. Therefore, lunar eclipses can only occur during a Full Moon. Similarly, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun casting its shadow upon the surface of the Earth. This can only occur when the Moon is on the same side of the Earth as the Sun - which would normally be when there is a New Moon. The reason we don't normally get eclipses during Full and New Moons is because the Moon's orbit is tilted with respect to the Earth's orbit. During a Full Moon, the tilted path of the Moon usually takes it above or below the Earth's shadow and thus we get no lunar eclipse and just a normal Full Moon. During a New Moon, the tilted path of the Moon usually makes it such that the shadow of the Moon is cast above or below the surface of the Earth and thus we get no solar eclipse and just a normal New Moon.

The maximum number of lunar eclipses that can occur per year is 3 (minimum 0), and the maximum number of solar eclipses is 5 (minimum 2). However, these numbers are very rare. On average, there are 1-2 lunar eclipses (partial or total) and 2-3 solar eclipses (partial, annular, or total) each year.

However, it should be noted that because during a solar eclipse the Moon's shadow does not cover the entire surface of the Earth (because the Moon is smaller than the Earth) not everyone on Earth will see the solar eclipse as it occurs. Instead, only those living along the path of the Moon's shadow (called the path of totality) will see it. On the other hand, everyone will be able to see a lunar eclipse. Thus, it is far more common for people to see a lunar eclipse at any given location than a solar eclipse. Put another way, the average time between two solar eclipses seen from the same location is about 360 years while the average time between two lunar eclipses seen from the same location is between 6 and 12 months.

Twice a year, there is a roughly 38 day window of time during which an eclipse could occur. These windows do not occur at the same time every year, so the term "season" does not refer to a particular time during the calendar year (Spring, Summer, etc.). The two eclipse seasons are separated by just under 6 months. Thus, the complete eclipse cycle lasts for roughly 345 days while the calendar year lasts for 365 days, so the eclipse seasons shift earlier and earlier each year - realigning again every 19 years.

During the two eclipse seasons the Moon's orbit is titled in such a way that it passes through the Earth's shadow and directly across the line of sight between the Earth and the Sun. If the Moon passes into a Full or New phase during this time an eclipse will occur. If a lunar and solar eclipse occur during the same season, they will be separated by about two weeks (the time it takes for the Moon to move from the opposite side of the Earth to the same side of the Earth as the Sun).

Definitely not! Two people standing right next to each other will generally have the same view, but if two people are a mile apart, its' possible that one will experience a total solar eclipse while the other will see only a partial eclipse.

For people who are right on the edge of the path of totality, it's possible to do an interesting experiment; line up a set of telescopes every 10 yards or so, connected to photosensors and highly accurate clocks. Measure the precise time at which the Sun flickers into view through the valleys in the mountains on the Moon, and you can create amazingly accurate elevation maps of the lunar mountains.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth, blocking the Sun's light and casting a shadow on Earth. There are different types of solar eclipses, including total, partial, and annular, depending on the alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Solar eclipses are rare events that can only be seen from specific locations on Earth.

An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are exactly in line, but the apparent size of the Moon is smaller than that of the Sun. This is because the distance of the moon from earth varies. The Sun appears as a very bright ring, or annulus, surrounding the outline of the Moon.

The next eclipse of the sun you'll be able to see in California is going to be May 20, 2012.

Late that spring afternoon, all of northern California north of a line from Punta Delgada

to Lake Tahoe will be directly in the path of an annular eclipse of the sun. All the rest

of the state sees a deep partial eclipse.

This will be a "welders glasses" eclipse. It does not become night in the daytime, but

the moon will move completely across the sun, leaving a thin, fiery ring (or "annulus"

in Latin, hence the "annular" eclipse) lasting for over five minutes.

There will be other solar eclipses before then, but none is visible in California. For instance,

in the late evening of Wednesday February 6th, an annular eclipse passes over parts of

west Antarctica. Since it happens around 8 p.m. Pacific Time, you can't see any of this

solar eclipse. The only inhabited parts of the world in its path are New Zealand and the

southeastern corner of Australia, which see a partial eclipse of the sun in the late

afternoon of February 7th (west of the International Date Line).

While there are variations, sometimes dramatic variations, between cultures in terms of the stories told about what caused solar eclipses, the most common was that the sun was being devoured and that loud noises, chants, songs and so on would frighten the monster away.

The differnence between a total solar eclipse and a partial solar eclipse is that a total solar eclipse you can see the moon appear to cover the sun completely and then the sky becomes dark that you can see the stars and a total solar eclipse lasts no longer than about seven minutes. The partial solar eclipse is similar to a total solar eclipse except that the moon never completely covers the sun.

From- Amanda amondo

The number is irregular, varying between 2 and 5 per year. During the 20th Century,

spanning the years from 1901 to 2000, there were 228 solar eclipses (plus 229

lunar ones). So the long-term average is roughly 2.3 per year.

A Solar Eclipse is a blocking of sun light reaching the Earth. The Blockage is caused by the Moon coming directly between the Sun and the Earth.

The Words'

Solar ; of the Sun (Latin)

Eclipse ; Obscuring (Classical Greek).

It will begin at 11:58 pm (Greenwich Mean Time), and reach total eclipse at 12:54 am (GMT). It will last for a total of 6 minutes and 39 seconds.

Typically it takes about an hour for the Moon to get into Earth's shadow; an hour to cross it, and an hour to get out. Before and after that, there is also the entry and exit into the partial shadow. This is listed in astronomy books, but it is hardly visible.

During a solar eclipse, the alignment is the Sun, Moon, and Earth, with the Moon positioned between the Earth and the Sun. As the eclipse progresses outward toward the edge of the solar system, the alignment remains the same, with the Sun at the center and the Moon moving away from the inner planets towards the outer planets.

While solar eclipses happen about twice per year, they are typically observable only within limited areas. So solar eclipses are rarely seen in a particular location.

For Auckland, NZ, there will be no total solar eclipses visible for the next thousand years. Partial eclipses occur two or three times per decade. The next partial solar eclipse will be 2012-Nov-14, and the Sun will be about 85% occulted.

No. In order for a solar eclipse to occur, the Sun, Moon and Earth must line up precisely. Most of the time, the alignment is wrong and the shadow of the Moon points either "above" or "below" the Earth without touching it.

Only about twice a year is the alignment close enough to have an eclipse. In many cases, the alignment is very close, and you have a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse just two weeks apart.

In some years, like 2008, the alignment is particularly bad, so last year we had three PARTIAL solar eclipses and one annular eclipse instead of the typical two.

On November 3rd, 2013 you should be able to see the very beginnings of a partial eclipse of a rising Sun. On August 21st, 2017 a major partial eclipse will be visible in the afternoon with 80% of the sun's disk being covered. 2045 is the closest date when Tampa will see a total solar eclipse.

In that case, the tides caused by the the Sun and the Moon cancel in part, so the tides will be weaker than at other times.

A Total eclipse - is where the moon passes directly in front of the sun's disc - completely obscuring it. A partial - is where the moon and sun aren't quite aligned, and part of the sun is left 'uncovered' as the moon makes its transit.

It refers to the Woody Allen movie "Stardust Memories." Dorie is Allen's ex-girlfriend in the film, and there's a very specific scene where someone asks him if he remembers the last time he saw Dorie - where it shifts to a series of cuts, one of which the audio was used and called, "Dorie Intro Music" where she says, "There's a doctor here who thinks I'm beautiful and interesting."

A lunar eclipse is when the Earth passes between the Moon and the Sun. The Earth's shadow, cast by the Sun, passes over the Moon.
A solar eclipse is when the Moon passes across the face of the Sun, as viewed from Earth, and the Sun casts a deep shadow over the Earth.

The moon.

No such thing as a "partial total eclipse", sorry.

Did you mean "partial lunar eclipse"? In a total lunar eclipse, the Moon goes completely into the umbra, or total shadow, of the Earth. Except for some red sunlight that passes through the Earth's atmosphere and is bent into the dark area, the Moon becomes completely dark. The remaining red glow is all of the sunrises and sunsets all the way around the world, at once.

In a partial lunar eclipse, the Moon isn't quite precisely aligned with the Sun and Earth, and only part of the Moon goes into the umbra. The rest of the Moon is still sunlit. The sunlit area isn't COMPLETELY bright; it is in the "penumbra", where part of the Sun's light is blocked by the Earth. But we generally can't tell the difference between total sunlight and partial sunlight on the Moon without special instruments.

The halo of light that appears around the moon during a solar eclipse is caused by sunlight being refracted through the Earth's atmosphere. This phenomenon is known as the "corona effect" and occurs due to the scattering of sunlight by particles in the atmosphere which creates a glowing ring around the moon.

total lunar