Solar System

Exploration
Division
www.MrEclipse.com
http://sunearth.gsfc.Nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html
Compiled by U. Schreiber

In ancient times the gradual disappearance of the sun in the middle of the day (right) used to be a terrifying event attributed
to the wrath of a vengeful higher power, that struck terror in the heart of Man. Only comparatively recently solar eclipses
were discovered to be natural phenomena, caused by a special alignment of Earth, Sun and Moon, but while they´re not mys-
tical, they are still extremely rare for any given spot on Earth (i.e. a certain place on Earth will witness a solar eclipse only
once every few hundred years). After the 1999 solar eclipse over Europe - said to be the most- watched ever in human history
since it occurred over densely populated regions - general interest in this astronomic curiosity has experienced an increase,
resulting in more people willing to travel considerable distances in order to view subsequent eclipses. For astronomers, a
total solar eclipse is a rare opportunity to observe the corona (the outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere), which at normal
times is invisible due to the brightness of the Sun´s surface.
Annular
Total Eclipse
Eclipse Geometry of Solar Eclipses
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring
Antumbra our view of it. This configuration can only occur during a New Moon, when the Sun and Moon are in
Sun Umbra conjunction as seen from Earth. While the Sun is about 400 times larger than the Moon, it is also
Penumbra some 400 times farther from Earth than its companion world, resulting in their apparent sizes being
Moon approximately the same for an observer on Earth, and enabling the Moon to `cover´ the much bigger
Sun. However, as the Moon's orbit around Earth is an ellipse, as is Earth's orbit around the Sun, their
Partial Eclipse
distances from each other vary according to their respective orbital positions, and thus their apparent
sizes as seen from Earth; as a result the Sun is not always completely hidden during an eclipse (left). Composite image of the sun´s disk
and corona during a total solar eclipse

Types of Solar Eclipses Diamond Ring and Bailey´s Beads

A total eclipse occurs when the Sun is completely obscured
by the Moon, with only the corona showing along its outer
rim. Totality is visible only from a narrow track on the
surface of the Earth, i.e. where the Moon´s umbra (shadow)
touches the Earth´s surface.
An annular eclipse occurs when the apparent size of the
Moon is smaller than that of the Sun, and only the Moon´s
antumbra (`negative´ shadow) reaches Earth´s surface.
Thus the Sun appears as a bright ring (annulus) around the
Moon.
A hybrid eclipse appears at some points on the Earth´s sur-
face as a total eclipse, whereas at others it is merely annular.
A partial eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are not
exactly in line, and the Moon only partially obscures the
Sun. This phenomenon can usually be seen from the larger
part of Earth outside the track of an annular or total eclipse,
that still falls within the Moon´s Penumbra (partial
shadow).
This stunningly beautiful effect heralds the beginning and end of totality dur-
ing a solar eclipse. The sequence of images (left) shows the Sun's crescent
breaking up into a series of beads where sunlight still reaches the Earth´s sur-
face through lunar valleys, before vanishing against a background of spec-
tacular prominences (`diamond ring effect´). However, it must be kept in
mind that viewing any part of a solar eclipse - except during totality -
requires appropriate eye protection (NOT sunglasses), for despite of the fact
that the Sun appears much less bright than usual, its invisible, damaging radi-
ation is just as strong as ever!
Past and Future Solar Totality over Zambia 2001 Total Eclipse
29 Mar 2006 Saros 139
Eclipses
Recent total solar eclipses over the
African continent took place in 2001, 2002,
2005 and 2006, the first two of which were
visible over the eastern Caprivi as partial Path of Totality
eclipses. The dates of both past and future
Alt. = 67°
solar eclipses can be accurately calculated Mag. = 1.052
Gam. = 0.384
Dur. = 4 m 7s
from astronomical observations according to F. Espenak, NASA, GSFC

which the next total eclipse over Africa will only occur in 2010 (annular eclipse). The chart on the left shows the paths of all total and
annular solar eclipses between 2001 and 2020, together with their dates of occurrence.

Lunar Eclipses Outer shadow cone

A lunar eclipse happens when the Moon passes through Earth’s Earth Inner shadow cone Moon (Umbra)
shadow while Moon and Sun are on exactly opposite sides of Sunlight (Penumbra)
the Earth - but as the plane in which the Moon orbits Earth is
slightly inclined, a lunar eclipse does not occur every month at Types of Lunar Eclipses
Full Moon! In the outer part of Earth´s shadow (penumbra)
only part of the sunlight is blocked, whereas the inner, darker A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon only passes through
part (umbra) is opaque to all light coming directly from the Sun the Earth's penumbra, the outer portion of the Earth's shadow.
to the Moon. Every year, there are at least two lunar eclipses of The penumbra does not cause a noticeable darkening of the
TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE 03 MARCH 2007 Moon's surface. Penumbral lunar eclipses also precede and suc-
ceed both total and partial eclipses.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon travels completely
into the Earth's umbra, the dark inner part of the shadow. As the
Earth casts a much bigger shadow than the moon, the totality
phase is longer than during a solar eclipse, lasting up to 107 min-
utes (compared to mere minutes of a solar eclipse). If only part of
any type, and a total lunar eclipse commonly occurs every two years. In contrast the Moon enters the umbra, a partial lunar eclipse results.
to a total solar eclipse, which is visible only along the narrow path of totality, a
total lunar eclipse can be seen from the entire night hemisphere of the Earth (the Planetary Transits
hemisphere that faces the Moon during the eclipse). Also, lunar eclipses are
safe to observe with the unaided, unprotected eye. The transit or passage of a planet across the
However, unlike the Sun during a solar eclipse, the Moon is not com- face of the Sun is a relatively rare occur-
pletely dark during totality because sunlight deflected by Earth´s atmosphere rence. As seen from Earth, only transits of
into the shadow cone still reaches its surface. Around and throughout totality, it Mercury and Venus are possible, the orbits
glows in various hues of red, orange and yellow (above), the shorter blue and of the other planets lying outside Earth´s.
green wavelengths of the sunlight being filtered out . According to the concen- There are approximately 13 transits of
tration of dust in the atmosphere it may appear less vividly orange and more Mercury each century. In comparison, tran-
brownish/purplish (right). During the total lunar eclipse of 9 December 1992, sits of Venus occur in pairs with more than
Latitude the Moon was indeed almost dark due to the considerable amount of ash a century separating each pair. As both
injected into the atmosphere by Pinatubo Volcano in the Phillipines. planets are only a fraction of the sun´s
The graphic on the left shows all important parameters and times of the apparent diameter a telescope (suitably
forthcoming total lunar eclipse on 3 March, 2007. For further information equipped for solar viewing) is necessary to
Longitude
about this or other past or future eclipses visit one the above websites. observe these events.