Arielle Towers 04/28/11

Eclipses: Balls of Fire

Introduction

✤ What is an eclipse of the Moon?

✤ What is an eclipse of the Sun?

✤ What causes an Eclipse?

✤ How often do they happen?

✤ When is the next Solar Eclipse?

✤ When is the next Lunar Eclipse?

✤ A Solar Eclipse is when the Moon passes in front of the Sun. As seen

from earth.

✤ The amount of coverage depends on the distance of the Moon from the

Earth during the Eclipse.

What is an Eclipse of the Sun?

Why Does a Solar Eclipse Occur?

✤ A Total Eclipse occurs when the Earth passes

through the Umbra of the Moon’s Shadow.

✤ When the umbra does not reach the surface of the Earth, the Sun is only

partially covered, causing in an Annular Eclipse.

✤ A Partial Eclipse occurs when the viewer is inside

the Penumbra of the Moon’s shadow.

Types of Solar Eclipses

Solar Eclipse Frequency

“During the five thousand year period 2000 BCE to 3000 CE, planet Earth experiences 11,898 solar eclipses as follows:”

Eclipse TypeNumber of

Occurrences

All 11,898

Partial 4200

Annular 3956

Total 3173

Hybrid 569

http://www.mreclipse.com/

What is an Eclipse of the Moon?

✤ A Lunar Eclipse is when the moon enters

the earths shadow.

Why does a Lunar Eclipse Occur?

✤ A Lunar Eclipse occurs when the Moon passes fully into the Penumbra of the Earth’s shadow.

✤ A Lunar Eclipse only occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth as the sun, they only occur when there is a full Moon.

Differences

✤ A Lunar Eclipse can be viewed from almost an entire hemisphere, while a Solar Eclipse can only be view from a certain region.

✤ You can watch a Lunar Eclipse without any danger to your eyes, while watching a Solar Eclipse with the naked eye is very dangerous.

✤ The duration of the Lunar Eclipse may last for almost an hour whereas the Solar Eclipse can be six to seven minutes at best.

✤ Lunar Eclipse generally occurs twice a year whereas the solar eclipse occurs once every 18 months.

✤ Read more: Difference Between Lunar And Solar Eclipse | Difference Between | Lunar And Solar Eclipse http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-lunar-and-solar-eclipse/#ixzz1KtGd3LGt

✤ Read more: Difference Between Lunar And Solar Eclipse | Difference Between | Lunar And Solar Eclipse http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-lunar-and-solar-eclipse/#ixzz1KtGUQ9NC

History of Eclipses

DateDate TypeType DurationDuration

April 17, 1912 Hybrid 00m02s

May 29, 1919 Total 06m51s

September 21, 1922 Total 05m59s

January 24, 1925 Total 02m32s

August 31, 1932 Total 01m45s

July 20, 1963 Total 01m40s

March 7, 1970 Total 03m28s

June 30, 1973 Total 07m04s

February 26, 1979 Total 02m49s

July 11, 1991 Total 06m53s

January 26, 2009 Annular 07m54s

July 22 2009 Total 06m39s

January 15, 2010 Annular 11m08s

January 4, 2011 Partial -

June 1, 2011 Partial -

Future of Eclipses

✤ ‘October 22, 2134 B.C. - Hi and Ho, The Royal Astronomers’

✤ “Predicting an eclipse was a duty of ancient Chinese astronomers. The earliest written record of a total solar eclipse comes from China. In 2134 B.C. two royal astronomers, Hi and Ho, knew that an eclipse was due. According to legend, on the day of the eclipse they were too drunk to perform the rites of chanting, beating drums and shooting arrows at the dragon that was devouring the Sun. When the eclipse took place the emperor — also known as the 'Son of the Sky'— was caught unprepared. Advance notice was required to dispatch the archers to frighten the dragon consuming the sun. The emperor ordered Hi and Ho beheaded for their sins.”

(http://www.nauticom.net/)

November 13, 2012 “The path of totality begins near Darwin in north central Australia and moves across the Great Barrier Reef near Cairns.”

August 21, 2017

“Finally, another total eclipse in the United States. This one sweeps a 70-mile wide path from Salem, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina, crossing coast-to-coast from mid-morning to early afternoon on this summer Monday. The eclipse reaches its maximum in western Kentucky, with the Sun at an altitude of 64 degrees and a duration of totality of 2 minutes 40 seconds. In Tennessee, Nashville is near the southern edge of the path, Knoxville near the northern edge. The shadow then passes over Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston, South Carolina, before racing out across the Atlantic.”

April 8, 2024“Another North American total eclipse only seven years later! This 120-mile wide path crosses Mazatlan, Dallas, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Montreal, with over four minutes of totality.”

August 12, 2026“An unusual eclipse track that actually moves westward near the North Pole before swinging southeast over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain. Reykjavik, Madrid, and Barcelona are near the edge of the path, and Palma de Mallorca is near the centerline just before sunset.”

August 2, 2027“The second eclipse in the same saros following July 11, 1991, passes over the Rock of Gibraltar, Thebes in Egypt (near where it reaches maximum duration of 6 minutes 22 seconds), and Mecca in Saudi Arabia.”

July 22, 2028 “This, another long eclipse, passes from one end of Australia to the other (including Sydney) on this afternoon. Near sunset, the path crosses Dunedin on South Island, New Zealand.”

(http://www.earthview.com)

Eclipse Records

✤ “Records of solar eclipses have been kept since ancient times. Eclipse dates can be used for chronological dating of historical records. A Syrian clay tablet records a solar eclipse which occurred on March 5, 1223 B.C.,[14] while Paul Griffin argues that a stone in Ireland records an eclipse on November 30, 3340 B.C.[15] Chinese historical records of solar eclipses date back over 4,000 years and have been used to measure changes in the Earth's rate of spin.[16]”

✤ (http://en.wikipedia.org/)

Eclipse Cycles

An eclipse cycle happens when the orbits of a for a harmonic pattern.

Saros CycleThe Saros Cycle occurs when a Solar of Lunar Eclipse repeats every 6,585.3 Days. Or a little over 18 years. (Because it is not a whole number of days, cycles with be visible from different parts of the world.

Information Sources

✤ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipses

✤ http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html

✤ http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhistory/SEhistory.html

✤ http://www.nauticom.net/www/planet/files/EclipseHistory-FearToFascination.html

✤ http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-lunar-and-solar-eclipse/

Image Sources

✤ http://images.astronet.ru/pubd/2007/03/02/0001220977/tsemoon_Gartstein_f.jpg

✤ http://vladon.ru/lj/943e8234133b_13B94/creative_solar_eclipse1920x1080.jpg

✤ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2008-08-01_Solar_eclipse_progression_with_timestamps.jpg

✤ http://www.oneminuteastronomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/solareclipse.png

✤ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SS_x_WNqZMM/TT25B8wsIOI/AAAAAAAAAkM/qBypxhMO8FY/s1600/eclipse2.png

✤ http://starwheel.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/lunar-eclipse_svg.png

✤ http://www.accimt.ac.lk/images/types_of_solar_eclipses.jpg

✤ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipses

✤ http://www.accimt.ac.lk/images/types_of_solar_eclipses.jpg

✤ http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html

✤ http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhistory/SEhistory.html

✤ http://www.nauticom.net/www/planet/files/EclipseHistory-FearToFascination.html

✤ http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-lunar-and-solar-eclipse/

✤ http://www.myvisitingcard.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/moon-eclipse_1667065c-300x187.jpg

✤ http://www.officialbhuldahcompany.com/eclipse%204.jpg

✤ http://www.optcorp.com/images2/articles/full-Saros145.GIF

✤ http://www.myastrologybook.com/SarosGeometryOfEclipses.gif