The solar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon in which the Moon covers the Sun. A solar eclipse occurs when, during the orbit of the Moon around the Earth, it is interposed between the Sun and Earth, covering the Sun totally or partially.
Solar or lunar eclipses occur when a planet or moon gets in the way of sunlight.
The solar corona can be observed around the solar disk hidden by the moon as a ring of fire. Since the corona’s temperature is much higher than that of the photosphere, it has a faint bluish color.
When was the last total solar eclipse?
The last total visible eclipse occurred on Thursday, June 10, 2021.
It began in the Atlantic Ocean and ended in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China. However, the solar eclipse of 2021 could only be seen entirely in northeastern Canada, northern Greenland, the Arctic Ocean, and northeastern Russia.
What is a total solar eclipse?
A total solar eclipse occurs when the new Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth and totally blocks out the Sun.
A total eclipse of the sun occurs when the observer is in the moon’s shadow. Therefore, he must be in the path of totality.
The distance between the Earth and the Moon at the time of the eclipse may be different. Therefore, the diameter of the lunar shadow spot on the Earth's surface can vary.
What is a partial solar eclipse?
We call partial eclipse when the moon covers part of the sun. When the observer is in the twilight region, he can observe a partial solar eclipse.
The Moon does not pass strictly through the center of the Sun's disk and only hides part of it. In this case, the sky darkens much fainter than with a total eclipse.
What is an annular solar eclipse?
An annular eclipse occurs when, at the time of an eclipse, the Moon is at a greater distance from the Earth than during a total eclipse.
In this type of eclipse, the cone of the shadow passes over the earth's surface without reaching it. Visually, the Moon passes over the disk of the Sun, but its diameter turns out to be smaller than that of the Sun, and it cannot completely hide it.
What is a hybrid solar eclipse?
A hybrid solar eclipse happens when some parts of the central strip are seen as total and in others as annular.
Among the different types of eclipses of the Sun, hybrid one are very unfrequent.
How often do solar eclipses occur?
We can observe between 2 and 5 eclipses of the Sun per year, of which no more than two are total or annular.
On average, 237 solar eclipses occur over a hundred years, of which 160 are partial, 63 are total, and 14 are hybrid eclipses.