Fun Facts About Solar Eclipse

Since ancient times, man has been fascinated by the phenomena of nature and what he failed to explain, from disease to volcanic eruptions, he attributed to divinity. Rare phenomena, solar eclipses, were challenging to understand. It is considered to be manifestations of the gods.

However, there are things about eclipses that are not even known to everyone today. Read some fun facts below.

1. Record duration! The longest total solar eclipse in the last 100 years was on July 22, 2009. It could be admired from India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. The total darkness phase lasted up to 6 minutes and 29 seconds.

2. If you find that the shadow of the clouds on the ground is moving fast, you have not heard the speed with which the shadow of the Moon moves on the surface of the Earth: 5000 miles per hour (or over 8000 km / h)

3. Why does the Moon completely cover the Sun during the eclipse? The explanation is their size. The Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon, but (coincidentally) it is also 400 times farther from the Earth (compared to the distance between the Moon and the Earth). Thus, seen from Earth, the two celestial bodies appear to have the same size.

4. The only place in the solar system where an eclipse can be admired is the Earth. However, some planets also have spectacular phenomena. A triple eclipse can occur on Jupiter at the same time because it has several satellites. The phenomenon can be observed from Earth with the help of a telescope.

5. In China, the term eclipse is “Shi,”, which means to eat. In ancient China, people believed that the Sun was devoured during an eclipse. The first astronomical eclipse was also recorded in the year 1000 BC.

6. The moon is moving away from the Earth! This phenomenon is proven and it has been estimated that over 600 million years ago, the Moon would be so far away that we would no longer see a total solar eclipse. The probability that a solar eclipse will be visible twice from the same place is 360 years, however in Carbondale, Illinois, a solar eclipse will be observed in 2017, and in 2024 the second will be admired.

7. The difference between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse regarding viewing is that the solar eclipse can be observed only along a narrow strip of Earth where the moon’s shadow falls perpendicular. Instead, at night, an eclipse of the moon can be admired from all over the dark side of the Earth.

8. The lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are placed on an axis, in this order. At a lunar eclipse, the phase of the moon will always be a “full moon”.

9. Lunar eclipses occur pretty frequently, at least twice a year.

10. Selenium is a particular type of eclipse. It appears when the Moon is eclipsed, but the Sun is visible. It can be seen at sunset or sunrise. It is also known as the horizontal eclipse.