Solar Eclipse

A Solar eclipse occurs when a new Moon comes in between the Sun and the Earth, as a result of which, the Sun gets hidden behind the Moon, either partially or fully. However, this does not occur every time the new Moon crosses between the Sun and the Earth.It is possible if and only if the Sun and Moon are in conjunction, that is, both of them should appear to us, as if they are placed near one another in the sky.

Types of Solar Eclipse
we can distinguish the solar eclipses into four different types. The causes of each has been explained in relation to its types:

Total Solar eclipse: In a total solar eclipse, the entire shadow of the Moon covers the bright Sun completely. The size of the Moon looks as big as the Sun. For those few priceless moments, only the faint halo of the Sun can be viewed. It is considered to be a very rare event because in this kind of eclipse, the totality exists in only a small region of the Earth, marked by the Moon's shadow or umbra. Observing a total solar eclipse can be a very thrilling experience, because the Sun becomes invisible during the daytime and total darkness sets in within minutes.

Annular Solar Eclipse: This eclipse occurs when the Sun and the Moon are positioned in one straight line. During the Annular Solar Eclipse, the Moon appears much smaller in size as compared to the Sun. As a result, the sharp and bright ring of the Sun encircling the dark Moon is visible to us.

A hybrid solar eclipse: The Hybrid solar eclipse is also a very rare event, because it undergoes a transition between a total and an annular eclipse. Therefore, this eclipse is seen as a total solar eclipse in some regions of the earth, whereas in other parts, it is seen as an annular one.

A partial Solar Eclipse: During the partial solar eclipse, the Sun and the Moon do not come in the same straight line. In this eclipse, the Moon covers the Sun partly, so it is visible from a large portion of the earth. Usually, it can be witnessed even from those regions which fall outside the path of total or partial solar eclipse. However, sometimes, partial eclipses won’t be seen if the umbra does not intersect with the Earth's surface.

The phenomenon of a total solar eclipse is an exceptional event. At any specific region, this event would repeat itself only once in 370 years, on an average. The duration of a total eclipse is really very short. The time period of an eclipse cannot be more than 7 minutes, 31 seconds. This is because the moon's umbra moves rapidly at a speed above 1700 kilometers per hour. In a millennium, there aren’t even 10 total solar eclipses that continue beyond 7 minutes. The total eclipse that occurred on June 30, 1973, was the last one that occurred for 7 minutes, 3 seconds. Such an eclipse, with duration of more than 7 minutes will happen again on June 25, 2150.

In the history of our planet, the longest duration of a solar eclipse is going to happen on July 16, 2186, which would last for 7 minutes, 29 seconds. One of the longest durations of solar eclipse of this century was witnessed by us recently. It took place on July 22, 2009 and its time period was 6 minutes, 39 seconds.

Questions to Ponder

• How long does a solar eclipse last?
• How do astronomers determine the precise timing of the Solar Eclipses?