Solar Eclipse

Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon gets between Earth and the Sun, and the moon casts a shadow over Earth. It is a natural phenomenon which can only take place at the phase of new moon, when the moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth and its shadow fall upon Earth’s surface.

Credit – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Solar_eclipse.png

Types of Solar Eclipse

1. Partial solar eclipse
2. Annular solar eclipse
3. Total solar eclipse
4. Hybrid solar eclipse

• Partial solar eclipse: During this, the moon blocks the sun, but only partially. As a result, some part of the sun is visible, whereas the blocked part appears dark. A partial solar eclipse is the most common type of solar eclipse. 

• Annular solar eclipse: In this case,the moon blocks out the sun in such a way that the border of the sun remains visible and Moon completely covers the Sun. This is the second most common type of eclipse. 

• Total solar eclipse: As the word “total” suggests, when the moon totally blocks out the sun for a few minutes, leading to a period of darkness, the resulting eclipse is called a total solar eclipse. During this period of darkness, one can witness the solar corona, which is usually too dim to notice when the sun is at its full glory. Totality may last as long as 7 minutes 31 seconds, though most total eclipses are usually much shorter. 

• Hybrid solar eclipse:The rarest of all eclipses is a hybrid eclipse, which shifts between a total and annular eclipse. During a hybrid eclipse, some locations on Earth will witness the moon completely blocking the sun (a total eclipse), whereas, other regions will observe an annular eclipse. 

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Check Point

A. Fill in the blanks: 

1. The …………… is the dark centre portion of a shadow.
2. The rarest of the eclipse is ……………
3. The …………… solar eclipse blocks out the entire Sun for a few minutes.
4. The lighter outer part of a shadow is called as ……………
5. The second most common type of the solar eclipse is ……………

 B. State True or False:

1. Annual solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks out the sun in such a way that the border of the sun remains visible and Moon completely covers the Sun.
2. In case of total solar eclipse totality may last as long as 7 minutes 31 seconds.
3. Solar eclipse occurs when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Full Moon.
4. There are total 3 types of solar eclipses.
5. In case of partial solar eclipse some part of the sun is visible, whereas the blocked part appears dark.

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