![]() Total solar eclipse: When the Moon completely covers the Sun from the perspective of a location on Earth, creating a brief period of darkness. Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow on the Moon. You can find more information about today's eclipse on our full eclipse guide. Solar eclipse: When the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, partially or completely blocking the Suns light. One difference is the location of the eclipse. (If you stare directly into the sun for an extended period of time, you risk damaging your eyes.) The only safe time to look at the eclipse without glasses is during the minute or two of totality. If you plan to watch the eclipse, make sure you are wearing certified eclipse glasses. The eclipse ends when the moon ceases to cover the sun. After that, the moon will continue to travel across the sky to form another crescent. After about an hour, the moon will almost completely mask the sun, and you'll start to see a bright light radiate out of the sliver of remaining sun, known as the "diamond ring."ĭuring this eclipse, totality will last a maximum of 2 minutes and 43 seconds. The phenomenon kicks off with what's called first contact, when the moon starts to pass across the sun. ![]() The total solar eclipse has 10 distinct phases, each with different amounts of the sun visible from the ground level. Solar Eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of. (Jeff Thornton carries his daughter, Sammie, 4, to view the total solar eclipse in St. From Earth there are two main types of eclipses: solar eclipses and lunar eclipses. You get a lunar eclipse when the moon is on the other side of the Earth, farthest from the sun. You get a solar eclipse when the moon is between the Earth and sun. The moon aligns with the nodes and the sun about twice per year, which is how we get eclipses. On the diagram above, the moon is lined up on a node. There are two points - called nodes - where the moon's orbit crosses the Earth's plane. ![]() The moon's orbit is tilted about five degrees, which is large enough to keep its shadow off the Earth and the Earth's shadow off the moon most of the time. But the moon is not in line with Earth's orbit relative to the sun, which is why we don't have a solar eclipse every month. Then, if you're in the path of totality, the moon appears to mask the sun. When those conditions align, the Earth, sun, and moon line up. Eclipse path What causes a total solar eclipseĭuring a total solar eclipse, three key conditions happen at the same time: The moon is in the "new moon" phase the moon crosses the plane of the Earth's orbit and the moon is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit.
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