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Solar eclipse: Total solar eclipse, partial solar eclipse, annular eclipse. What are solar and lunar eclipses? Solar eclipse diagram

For a solar eclipse to occur, the Earth, Moon and Sun must line up, which only happens during new moons. Due to the Moon's orbital movement at a speed of about 1 km/s, its shadow moves relative to the Earth at approximately the same speed. The maximum time during which the Moon's shadow (the area of total eclipse of the Sun) slides across the Earth is about 3.5 hours, and the penumbra (the area of partial eclipse) lingers on the Earth for about 5.5 hours. The maximum size of the shadow on the Earth's surface is about 270 km . Residents who find themselves in the path of the shadow observe a total eclipse of the Sun. The duration of this phenomenon depends on the latitude of the area, since the Earth's surface rotates in the same direction - from west to east, where the lunar shadow moves, with a maximum speed at the equator of 0.46 km / s. Therefore, near the equator, total eclipses can last up to 7 minutes 40 seconds, and at a latitude of 45° - up to 6.5 minutes. At every point on Earth, a total eclipse occurs on average once every 360 years.

By happy coincidence, the angular diameters of the Sun and Moon are almost the same: they are close to 0.5°. If at the moment of a solar eclipse the Moon passes perigee (the point of its orbit closest to the Earth), then it completely eclipses the Sun; at the apogee (the most distant point of the orbit), the angular size of its disk is less than the solar one, so an annular eclipse occurs.

Observable phenomena.

During partial eclipses of the Sun, the overall flow of its light is weakened slightly, incl. many people do not even notice this phenomenon unless they have been warned in advance. The part of the solar disk not covered by the Moon shines in the form of a “month”; this is easy to see if you look at the Sun through a thick filter, such as a piece of exposed photographic film.

Before the start of a total eclipse, the brightness decreases noticeably and the narrow crescent of the Sun can be observed without a filter. The crescent tapers rapidly, and when it occupies a very small portion of the arc, it is called a “diamond ring.” At the last moment, this area is divided into a chain of bright spots called “Bailey's rosary” - these are the rays of the Sun shining through the unevenness of the lunar edge (lunar valleys). Suddenly darkness falls and a snow-white solar corona appears. Its brightness is half a million times lower than that of the Sun's disk, and quickly decreases towards the edges, but when darkness sets in, individual rays of the corona can be traced to a distance of several degrees. A pinkish strip of the chromosphere is visible along the edge of the lunar disk. Sometimes bright pink tongues of prominences stretching above the chromosphere are visible. Here and there stars are visible in the sky. A few minutes later, the “Bailey’s rosary” and the “diamond ring” appear on the opposite side of the solar disk - the total eclipse is over and the corona has faded in the rays of the Sun.

Annular eclipse.

The average length of the lunar shadow is 373 thousand km, while the average distance from the Earth to the Moon is 385 thousand km. Therefore, in most eclipses, the lunar shadow does not reach the earth's surface. At the same time, the Moon does not completely cover the solar disk, but leaves a thin rim visible. With such an annular eclipse, the bright rim of the Sun makes it impossible to see either the corona or stars near the Sun. Therefore, annular eclipses are not of great scientific interest.

Lunar eclipses.

For an eclipse of the Moon, the Sun, Earth and Moon must also be located approximately on the same straight line. If the Moon passes through the Earth's penumbra, its brightness is weakened slightly. Penumbral eclipses are unattractive to astronomers and are rarely discussed. When the Moon enters the Earth's shadow, a fairly clear dark area moves onto its surface, which turns red and darkens greatly, but still remains visible: it is illuminated by the sun's rays scattered and refracted in the earth's atmosphere, and red rays pass through the air better than blue ones ( for the same reason the Sun is red at the horizon). The brightness of the Moon during a total eclipse depends greatly on the cloudiness of the Earth's atmosphere.

Scientific interest in lunar eclipses mainly stems from the ability to measure the rate at which its surface temperature drops after an abrupt cessation of solar heating. The rapid drop in temperature indicates that the top layer of lunar soil is a poor conductor of heat.

Geometry of eclipses.

The Moon's path in the sky is tilted approximately 5° to the Sun's path, the ecliptic. Therefore, eclipses occur only near the intersection points (“nodes”) of their trajectories, where the luminaries are sufficiently close. The apparent displacement of the Moon when observed from different points on the Earth (diurnal parallax), as well as the finite size of the Sun and Moon, make eclipses possible in a certain zone near the nodes of their orbits. Depending on the distance to the Moon and the Sun, the size of this zone changes. For solar eclipses, its boundaries are spaced from the node in each direction by 15.5–18.4°, and for lunar eclipses – by 9.5–12.2°.

Solar eclipses.

The Sun makes a 360° revolution along the ecliptic in 365 1/4 days; since the eclipse zone occupies about 34°, the Sun spends about 34 days in this zone. But the period between new moons is 29 1/2 days, which means that the Moon must necessarily pass through the eclipse zone while the Sun is there, but it can visit it twice during this period. Therefore, with each passage of the Sun through the eclipse zone (once every six months), one eclipse should occur, but two can occur.

Lunar eclipses.

The Earth's shadow passes through the lunar eclipse zone on average every 22 days. During this period, no more than one lunar eclipse can occur, since 29 1/2 days pass between full moons. An eclipse may not happen at all if one full moon was on the eve of the shadow entering the zone, and the next - immediately after it left the zone.

Although lunar eclipses occur less frequently than solar eclipses, we see total eclipses of the Moon much more often than of the Sun. The fact is that the Moon, covered by the earth's shadow, can be observed by all inhabitants of the night hemisphere of the Earth, while to observe a total solar eclipse you need to fall into a narrow strip of the lunar shadow.

Recurrence of eclipses.

The period between two successive passages of the Sun through the ascending node of the lunar orbit is called the draconic year (remember the legend of the dragon devouring the Sun). During this period, at least two solar eclipses should occur - one each near the ascending and descending nodes; but there may not be a single lunar one. A maximum of one lunar and one solar eclipse can occur at each node - six in total.

Since the rotation of the lunar orbit causes the nodes to move towards the Sun, the draconic year lasts only 346.6 days. Thus, if the first eclipse of the year occurred before January 19, then the seventh eclipse may also occur before the end of the calendar year. The nearest such situation will be in 2094.

Saros.

E. Halley discovered that eclipses repeat cyclically every 223 lunar months. He called this period "Saros", mistakenly believing that this was the name given to it by the Babylonians, who were undoubtedly familiar with this period. Ancient Greek astronomers were familiar with a triple saros lasting 54 years, which they called exeligmos.

In 19 draconic years (6585.78 days), almost exactly 224 new moons (6585.32 days) occur. Therefore, at any moment, the phases of the Moon are related to its position relative to the nodes in the same way as it was 18 years and 11 1/3 days ago (or 18 years and 10 1/3 days, depending on the number of leap years). Since Saros differs by only 11 1/3 days from the number of whole years, the eclipses of the next cycle occur mainly against the background of the same constellations as the previous one.

The difference between 223 lunar months by 1/3 of a day from the whole number of solar days leads to the fact that during the eclipses of the next Saros, the Earth is shifted by 1/3 of a revolution to the east, and the corresponding eclipses are observed 120° to the west in longitude. But after 3 saros the situation repeats itself much more accurately. Since the relationship between the draconic year and the lunar month is not entirely simple, successive eclipses in Saros are shifted north or south depending on whether they occur in the ascending or descending node. Finally, the lunar shadow slides over the earth's poles, and this sequence of eclipses ends. During one 18-year saros, between 70 and 85 eclipses occur; There are usually 43 solar and 28 lunar eclipses.

Eclipse tables.

Circumstances of all eclipses since 1207 BC. to 2161 AD were calculated by T. von Oppolzer and published in his Canon of Eclipses(Canon der Finsternisse, 1887). In table 2 uses data from this classic work; table 1 taken from Canon of solar eclipses(1966) J. Meesa, C. Grosien and V. Vanderlin. It marks all solar eclipses from 1988 to 2028, except for partial ones. Visibility areas are listed in order of shadow traversal. To find out the exact location of the total eclipse stripe, you need to refer to special publications.

Table 1. Total and annular eclipses of the Sun

Table 1. TOTAL AND ANnULAR ECLIPSE OF THE SUN
date	Type	Continue Duration (minutes)	Area of visibility
1988, March 18	P	4	Sumatra, Philippines, north. Pacific Ocean
1988, September 11	TO	7	Indian Ocean
1990, January 26	TO	2	Indian Ocean
1990, July 22	P	3	Finland, Siberia, northern Pacific Ocean
1991, January 15/16	TO	8	South Pacific Ocean
1991, July 11	P	7	Hawaii, Central America, Brazil
1992, January 4/5	TO	12	Center. Pacific Ocean, California
1992, June 30	P	5	South Atlantic
1994, May 10	TO	6	USA, northern Atlantica, Morocco
1994, November 3	P	4	Pacific Ocean, Center. and South America, Atlantic
1995, April 29	TO	7	Pacific Ocean, Peru, Brazil
1995, October 24	P	2	Iran, India, southeast. Asia, Pacific
1997, March 9	P	3	Mongolia, Siberia, Arctic
1998, February 26	P	4	Pacific Ocean, Colombia, north. Atlantic
1998, August 22	TO	3	Sumatra, Borneo, south. Pacific Ocean
1999, February 16	TO	1	South Indian Ocean, Australia
1999, August 11	P	2	North Atlantic, center. Europe, India
2001, June 21	P	5	South Atlantic, south Africa
2001, December 14	TO	4	Pacific Ocean, Nicaragua
2002, June 10/11	TO	1	North Pacific Ocean
2002, December 4	P	2	North Africa, Indian Ocean, Australia
2003, May 31	TO	4	Iceland
2003, November 23	P	2	Antarctic
2005, April 8	KP	1	North Pacific Ocean, Panama
2005, October 3	TO	5	Indian Ocean, north. Africa, Spain

2006, March 29	P	4	North Africa, Türkiye, Russia
2006, September 22	TO	7	Brazil, northern Atlantic
2008, February 7	TO	2	Antarctica, south Pacific Ocean
2008, August 1	P	2	Arctic, Russia, China
2009, January 26	TO	8	South Indian Ocean, Borneo
2009, July 22	P	7	India, China, Pacific Ocean
2010, January 15	TO	11	Center. Africa, Indian Ocean, China
2010, July 11	P	5	South Pacific Ocean, China
2012, May 20/21	TO	6	Japan, northern Pacific Ocean, USA
2012, November 13	P	4	North Australia, south Pacific Ocean
2013, May 9/10	TO	6	Australia, center. Pacific Ocean
2013, November 3	P	2	Atlantic, Center. Africa
2015, March 20	P	3	North Atlantic, Arctic
2016, March 9	P	4	Sumatra, Borneo, north. Pacific Ocean
2016, September 1	TO	3	Center. Africa, Madagascar, Indian Ocean
2017, February 26	TO	1	Pacific Ocean, Argentina, Atlantic, Africa
2017, August 21	P	3	Pacific Ocean, USA, Atlantic
2019, July 2	P	5	South Pacific Ocean, Chile, Argentina
2019, December 26	TO	4	Arabia Peninsula, India, Borneo, Pacific Ocean
2020, June 21	TO	1	Center. Africa, Arabia Peninsula, China
2020, December 14	P	2	Pacific Ocean, Chile, Argentina, Atlantic
2021, June 10	TO	4	Arctic, Siberia
2021, December 4	P	2	Antarctic
2023, April 20	P	1	Indian Ocean, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean
2023, October 14	TO	5	USA, Yucatan Peninsula, Brazil

2024, April 8	P	4	Pacific Ocean, Mexico, USA
2024, October 2	TO	7
2026, February 17	TO	2	Antarctic
2026, August 12	P	2	Greenland, Antarctica, Spain
2027, February 6	TO	8	Pacific Ocean, Argentina, Atlantic
2027, August 2	P	6	North Africa, Indian Ocean
2028, January 26	TO	10	Pacific Ocean, Brazil, Atlantic, Spain
2028, July 22	P	5	Pacific Ocean, Australia, New Zealand

Table 2. Lunar eclipses

Table 2. LUNAR ECLIPSE
date	Duration (minutes)		The place where the moon is at its zenith
	General	Full phase
1988, August 27	122	–	Samoa
1989, February 20	212	76	Philippines
1989, August 17	220	98	Center. Brazil
1990, February 9	204	46	South India
1990, August 6	174	–	North-East Australia
1991, December 21	70	–	Hawaii
1992, June 15	174	–	North China
1992, December 9	212	74	South Algeria
1993, June 4	220	98	O. New Caledonia
1993, November 29	206	50	Mexico City
1994, May 25	116	–	South Brazil
1995, April 15	78	–	Fiji
1996, April 4	216	84	Gulf of Guinea
1996, September 27	212	72	Guiana
1997, March 24	194	–	North-west Brazil
1997, September 16	210	66	Maldives
1999, July 28	142	–	Samoa
2000, January 21	214	84	Puerto Rico
2000, July 16	224	102	North-East Australia
2001, January 9	210	66	Muscat (Oman)
2001, July 5	154	–	North and center. Australia
2003, May 16	208	58	South center. Brazil
2003, November 9	200	24	Cape Verde Islands
2004, May 4	214	80	Madagascar
2004, October 28	214	80	Barbados
2005, October 17	66	–	Marshall Islands
THE END OF SAROS THAT STARTED IN 1988
2006, September 7	98	–	Maldives
2007, March 3	210	70	Nigeria
2007, August 28	220	92	Samoa
2008, February 21	206	52	Center. Atlantic
2008, August 16	186	–	Center. Atlantic
2009, December 31	66	–	Pakistan
2010, June 26	156	–	Tonga Islands
2010, December 21	212	74	Gulf of California
2011, June 15	224	102	Reunion Island
2011, December 10	206	56	East New Guinea
2012, June 4	140	–	Cook Islands
2013, April 25	36	–	Madagascar
2014, April 15	212	76	(117° west, 9° south)
2014, October 8	208	62	Palmyra Atoll
2015, April 4	200	24	Ellis Islands
2015, September 28	214	78	Northeast Brazil
2017, August 7	114	–	(87° east, 16° south)
2018, January 31	214	82	Enewetak Atoll
2018, July 27	220	98	Mauritius Island
2019, January 21	210	68	Cuba
2019, July 16	172	–	Mozambique
2021, May 26	200	24	Tonga Islands
2021, November 19	198	–	(139° west, 19° north)
2022, May 16	218	88	Bolivia
2022, November 8	216	84	Johnston Atoll
2023, October 28	86	–	South Arabia
THE END OF SAROS THAT STARTED IN 2006
2024, September 18	70	–	Northeast Brazil
2025, March 14	208	62	Galapagos Islands
2025, September 7	216	84	(87° east, 6° south)
2026, March 3	208	62	Palmyra Atoll
2026, August 28	194	–	Zap. Brazil
2028, January 12	60	–	Puerto Rico
2028, July 6	136	–	(86° east, 22° south)
2028, December 31	212	72	South China

Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is simultaneously observed from the entire hemisphere of the Earth. Therefore, in Table. 2 shows the central point of this hemisphere (always lying between the tropics), where the moon is at its zenith in the middle of the eclipse. Having found this point on the globe, you can easily determine the “hemisphere of visibility”. In its western part, the eclipse is observed in the evening, and in the eastern part - in the morning.

Eclipses in the past.

The earliest record of an eclipse is found in ancient Chinese documents, but the paucity of information makes it impossible to establish its exact date. Based on the records of eclipses, it is possible to compile a Chinese chronology starting from the 8th century. BC. The first substantiated date in Chinese history is an eclipse on November 30, 735 BC. This event is sometimes mistakenly associated with the eclipse of September 6, 776 BC, which was poorly visible in China.

The first eclipse, information about which still retains scientific value, occurred on June 15, 763 BC. in Assyria. It probably became the reason for the prophecy ( Amos, 8:9 ). Based on this and other ancient eclipses, astronomers have found that the length of the day is increasing by 0.001 seconds per century due to the slowing of the Earth's rotation.

According to Herodotus, the eclipse of May 28, 585 BC. so frightened the Medes and Lydians that they stopped the battle and concluded a truce after a five-year war. Herodotus reports that Thales of Miletus predicted the year in which this eclipse was to occur. It is very unlikely that Thales could have accurately predicted this particular eclipse, but analysis of some partial cycles could have pointed him to another partial eclipse in the same year.

Thucydides describes how the Athenian army was defeated due to a lunar eclipse. The Athenians decided to lift the siege of Syracuse in Sicily and under cover of darkness on August 27, 413 BC. They began to load onto the ships, when suddenly an eclipse began. Panic arose among the soldiers, the evacuation failed, and the Athenian army was defeated by the Syracusans.

Modern eclipses.

From the middle of the 19th century. Solar eclipses began to be actively used to study the physics of the Sun. By 1900, astronomers had discovered that the shape of the corona and the intensity of its spectrum varied during the 11-year sunspot cycle. In those years, this could only be known by observing eclipses; Later, a coronagraph telescope was created that artificially eclipses the Sun and makes it possible to observe the interior of the corona on any day. But even now we can study weak coronal rays, explore fine details in the spectrum of the corona and test the “Einstein effect” ( see below) only during eclipses. Since 1950, radio telescopes began to be used during eclipses, and during an expedition to the Aleutian Islands it was possible to measure the effective diameter of the Sun during an eclipse at various radio frequencies, despite clouds and rain.

Astrophysical observations.

The eclipse of July 8, 1842, observed in Europe and Central Asia, was very fruitful for the study of the Sun. Then, for the first time, prominences were described in detail. During the eclipse of July 28, 1851, daguerreotypes of prominences were made and the chromosphere of the Sun was discovered. During the eclipse of August 18, 1868, P. Jansen (1824–1908) discovered that the spectra of prominences contained bright lines, and immediately realized that prominences could be observed outside of eclipses using a spectroscope. One yellow line in these spectra has never been observed in laboratories. The element to which it belongs was discovered only in 1895 and was named helium.

The Fraunhofer spectrum of the corona was also first observed during the 1868 eclipse. It is formed when sunlight is scattered by small particles of interplanetary dust. During an eclipse the following year, the American astronomer C. Young (1834–1908) discovered an unknown green line in the emission spectrum of the corona, which was attributed to the hypothetical element “corona.” Only in 1942, Swedish astrophysicist B. Edlen showed that this line is emitted by iron atoms, which, under the influence of high temperature, have lost 13 of their 26 electrons.

During the eclipse of December 22, 1870, Young discovered the solar "reversal layer." The normal spectrum of the Sun contains many dark absorption lines. But just before the start of a total eclipse, when only a narrow bright rim is visible, the dark lines suddenly become bright. This is observed for only a few seconds and is therefore called the “flash spectrum”. It was first photographed at an eclipse in Brazil on April 16, 1893.

Objects inside Mercury's orbit.

Within the framework of Newton's theory of gravity, the movement of Mercury does not find a complete explanation; therefore, at the end of the 19th century. a hypothesis arose that its movement was disturbed by an unknown planet located even closer to the Sun. Her searches were undertaken during eclipses. In 1878, two small celestial bodies were noticed, but they could not be discovered later. But in 1882 and 1893, comets close to the Sun were noticed.

Einstein effect.

Following the publication of the general theory of relativity in 1916, many solar eclipse expeditions tested Einstein's predicted 1.76º deviation in the positions of stars near the Sun. This is caused by the fact that near a massive celestial body the geometric properties of space-time change, which leads to the bending of light rays. To test this effect, stars are photographed near the Sun at the time of an eclipse, and then again, 6 months later, at night. English expeditions to Brazil and West Africa during the eclipse of May 19, 1919 were the first to measure the Einstein effect: a shift in the position of stars was discovered, but its value continued to be refined for more than 50 years by many expeditions to subsequent eclipses.

Eclipses involving other objects.

Walkthroughs.

Typically, transits are the moments when the path of Mercury or Venus passes against the background of the solar disk. In the 20th century there have been 13 transits of Mercury, including the last on November 15, 1999; the next one will be on May 7, 2003. Transits of Venus occur much less frequently: the last two were in 1874 and 1882, and the next ones will be in 2004 and 2012. In the 18th century. The transit of Venus was of great interest because it helped determine the distance to the Sun and discover the atmosphere on Venus. Now this is not such an important event.

Satellites of Jupiter.

The entry of one of Jupiter's four large satellites into the planet's shadow is easy to observe even with a small telescope. O. Roemer noticed that the moments of eclipse of satellites lag behind those calculated based on measurements made when the Earth was closer to Jupiter. In 1676 he correctly explained this by the finite speed of light and quite accurately determined its value.

Coatings.

In its movement, the Moon from time to time obscures stars and other space objects. Accurately measuring the decline in the brightness of an object at this moment makes it possible to determine its size and shape, as well as clarify the theory of the movement of the Moon itself.

Eclipsing binaries.

Many stars live in pairs, orbiting around a common center of mass. If the Earth is located near the plane of their orbits, then from time to time we observe stars eclipsing each other. Based on the course of the light curve and measurements of the radial velocities of stars, their sizes and masses can be determined.

>> Solar eclipse

Solar eclipse– description for children: phases and conditions, eclipse diagram, position of the Moon, Sun and Earth in space, total, partial, annular, how to observe.

For the little ones you should know exactly how this amazing event occurs - a solar eclipse. Children We must remember that all objects in the solar system move along their own trajectory. On certain dates, the Moon appears in the space between us and, covering a certain part of the Earth with its shadow. Of course, depending on the position of the bodies, there can be a total, partial or annular solar eclipse. But all this is based on specific factors that need to be explain to the children. The diagram below will show how an eclipse is formed and which solar eclipse you are looking at in a particular case.

Parents or teachers At school must start with the background. The moon appeared 4.5 billion years ago. But initially it was located much closer, until it began to gradually move away (by 4 cm every year). Now the Moon has moved away so much that it fits perfectly into the outline of the Sun (in the sky, both objects seem the same size to us). True, it doesn’t always work out that way.

When is the next eclipse?

To give full explanation for children, it would be good to study the conditions of a solar eclipse and give an example of a previous event - February 26th. It was visible from Argentina, the South Atlantic and parts of Africa. Although, with modern technologies, if you have a computer, you can observe this from anywhere on earth.

The next solar eclipse will be visible from North America on August 21st. It will be complete and will pass through the US states: from Oregon to Georgia.

Types of solar eclipses

When people watch a solar eclipse, they don't always understand which one they are seeing. Children must remember only four varieties: full, ring, partial and hybrid.

Complete

To be honest, regarding the total solar eclipse, we were just very lucky. The solar diameter is 400 times larger than the lunar diameter. But even for the little ones It’s not news that the earth’s satellite is located closer. Therefore, when their orbits intersect, the distance is evened out and the Moon can completely cover the solar disk. This is usually monitored every 18 months.

Shadow is divided into two types. The shadow is the part where all sunlight is blocked (takes the shape of a dark cone). It is surrounded by penumbra. This is a lighter, funnel-shaped shadow that only partially blocks the light.

When a total eclipse occurs, the Moon casts a shadow on the surface. Should explain to the children that such a shadow is capable of covering 1/3 of the earth's route in just a couple of hours. If you are lucky enough to be exposed to direct light, you will see the sun's disk take the shape of a crescent.

There is a very short moment when the Sun is completely blocked. Then you will catch the glow of the corona (the outer sphere of the solar atmosphere). This period lasts up to 7 minutes 31 seconds, although most total eclipses tend to end earlier.

Partial

A partial eclipse occurs when only a penumbra forms above you. At such moments, a certain part of the Sun always remains visible (which one will depend on the circumstances).

Most often, penumbra lies over the polar regions. Other areas near this zone see only a thin streak of sunlight hidden behind the Moon. If you are in the very center of events, you can see the part covered with shadow. Important explain to the children that the closer they are to the epicenter, the larger the event will seem. For example, if you find yourself out of sight, you will be able to notice how the Sun decreases to the shape of a crescent, and then gradually returns to its usual appearance.

Ring

An annular eclipse is a type of partial eclipse, and it lasts 12 minutes 30 seconds (maximum). To make it clear explanation for children, it is worth noting that this occurs rarely and does not seem to be complete. It all starts with the sky darkening, resembling twilight, as most of the star is still visible.

Sometimes it is still confused with the full moon, because the Moon occupies the entire central solar plane. But here lies the main difference. The fact is that our satellite at this moment is not close enough, so it appears small and does not cover the entire disk. Therefore, the tip of the shadow is not marked on Earth. If you are lucky enough to be in the very center, you will see a “ring of fire” framing the Moon. Parents or teachers At school can demonstrate this phenomenon by placing a coin on a glowing flashlight.

Hybrids

They are also called annular (A-T) eclipses. This happens when the Moon reaches its limit in distance, allowing its shadow to touch our surface. In most cases, the origin resembles a ring type because the shadow tip does not yet reach the Earth. Then it becomes complete, since in the very middle the shadow falls on the earth's roundness, after which it returns to the ring type again.

Since it appears that the satellite is crossing the solar line, total, annular and hybrid eclipses are called “central” so as not to confuse them with partial ones. If we take it as a percentage, we get: full - 28%, partial - 35%, ring - 32% and hybrid - 5%.

Eclipse forecasts

Certainly, for the little ones It is important to understand that eclipses will not occur with every new moon. The moon's shadow most often passes above or below Earth's level because the satellite's orbit is tilted 5 degrees. But 2 times a year (maybe 5) the new moon becomes at the correct point to obscure the Sun. This point is called a node. Partiality or centrality will depend on the satellite's proximity to that node. But the formation of a total, annular or hybrid eclipse will be affected by the distance between the Earth and the Moon, as well as the planet and the Sun.

Parents should be reminded that these events do not happen by chance and can be calculated, giving people the opportunity to prepare. There is a certain interval called the Saros cycle. Children They will be surprised, but early Chaldean astronomers managed to calculate it 28 centuries ago. The word “saros” itself denoted the process of repetition and was equated to 18 years and 11⅓ days (of course, the number of days changes in a leap year). At the end of the interval, the Sun and Moon align to their previous location. What does third mean? This is the path of each eclipse, which each time moves closer to the west in relation to longitude. For example, the total eclipse of March 29, 2006 passed through western and northern Africa, and then moved to southern Asia. On April 8, 2024, it will repeat, but will already cover northern Mexico, the central and eastern regions of the United States, as well as the coastal Canadian provinces.

Safe Surveillance

The closer the event, the more actively the news tries to talk about the most important precautions regarding observing the eclipse. They forbid looking directly, as you might go blind. Because of this, many began to treat eclipses as something dangerous. No matter how it is!

Generally speaking, the Sun never loses its danger. Every second it showers our planet with invisible infrared rays that can damage vision. Children They probably checked this on themselves when they stared at the ordinary Sun for a long time. Of course, most of the time we don't do this, but an eclipse makes us look up.

But there are also safe methods...

Maximum security is guaranteed by pinhole cameras. Binoculars or a small telescope on a tripod will also work. With its help you can find spots, and also notice that the Sun will be darker at the edges. Otherwise, you should never look directly at the Sun without protective equipment.

There is also a mirror with special holes. You can do it yourself. To do this, take paper with a small hole and cover the mirror with it (no larger than your palm). Open the window from the sunny side and place the mirror on the windowsill illuminated by the rays. It must be placed so that the reflective side reflects sunlight onto the wall inside the house. You will see the manifestation of the disk - this is the face of the sun. The greater the distance from the wall, the better the visibility. Every three meters the image appears only 3 cm. You need to experiment with the size of the hole, as a large one will add brightness to the image at the expense of loss of clarity. But a small one will make it darker, but sharper. Don't forget to close the other windows with curtains and don't turn on the lights. It is best to organize maximum gloom in the room. Do not forget also that the mirror must be level and do not look at the reflection itself.

It is worth discarding old camera film negatives, as well as black and white film (there is no silver in it), sunglasses, photographic neutral density filters and polarizing filters. Of course, they don't let in much sunlight, but children must realize that they are failing to protect their eyes from exposure to enormous amounts of near-infrared radiation, which can cause retinal burns. And don't think that the absence of discomfort makes observation safe.

True, there is one moment when you can look at the Sun without fear - a total eclipse. At this time, the solar disk overlaps. But this lasts only a few seconds or minutes, but there is an opportunity to admire the delightful radiance of the pearl-white crown. With each eclipse it will change shades and size. Sometimes it seems soft, but it happens that several long rays seem to diverge from the star. But as soon as the Sun appears, you need to quickly take advantage of protection.

Eclipses in ancient times

Explanation for children would be incomplete without mentioning historical events. The earliest records appeared 4,000 years ago. The Chinese believed that it was a giant dragon trying to swallow the Sun. At the emperor's court there were even special astronomers who, during the event, shot arrows into the sky, played drums and made noise to scare the monster.

This is reflected in the ancient Chinese book Shujing (Book of Documents). It tells the story of two astronomers at court: Xi and Ho. They were caught drunk before the eclipse began. The emperor was so angry that he gave the order to cut off their heads. This event occurred on October 22, 2134 BC.

Eclipses are also mentioned in the Bible. For example, in Amos 8:9: “I will cause the sun to go down at midday and darken the earth in the midst of the bright day.” Scientists say that we are talking about the eclipse in Nineveh on June 15, 763 BC.

Solar eclipse can stop war

Herodotus said that the Lydians and Medes fought a 5-year war. When it was supposed to stretch on for another year, Thales of Miletus (Greek sage) said that the moment would soon come when day would become night. And this happened on May 17, 603 BC. The warriors thought that this was a warning sign from the gods and reconciled.

Surely children You may have heard the expression “scared to death.” So this has a real reference to the son of Charlemagne, Emperor Louis of Bavaria. May 5, 840 AD he noticed a total eclipse that lasted for a full 5 minutes. But as soon as the Sun appeared from the shadows, Louis was so amazed that he died of horror!

Modern research

Astronomers have been studying our system for a long time, trying to figure out what an eclipse is. And although it was very difficult to obtain information then (people could not go into space), by the 18th century a lot of useful knowledge had been collected.

To observe the total solar eclipse of October 27, 1780, Harvard professor Samuel Williams organized a trip to Panebscot Bay, Maine. This was dangerous, since at that time this territory was in the enemy zone (War of Independence). But the British appreciated the importance for science and let it pass without any claims of political differences.

But all this turned out to be in vain. Williams made a serious miscalculation so he stationed his men at Islesboro, which was just outside the event. He watched with disappointment as the crescent slid around the dark edge of the moon and began to gain strength.

During the full cycle, several bright red spots can be seen around the black disk of the satellite. These are solar prominences - hot hydrogen escaping to the surface of the star. The phenomenon was tracked by Pierre Janssen (an astronomer from France) on August 18, 1868. Thanks to this, he discovered a new element, which other astronomers (J. Norman Lockyer and Edward Frankland) later called helium (the Greek word helios meant “Sun”). It was only identified in 1895.

Another interesting thing about a total eclipse is that it blocks out sunlight, making the surrounding stars much easier to observe. It was under these conditions that astronomers were able to test the general theory of relativity, which predicted that starlight would pass beyond the Sun and go off the straight path. To do this, we compared two photographs of the same stars, taken during the total eclipse of May 29, 1919, and during the day.

Modern technology can do without eclipses to track other stars. But a total eclipse will forever remain a long-awaited and amazing event that everyone should see. You have studied the description and conditions for creating a solar eclipse. Use our photos, videos, drawings and moving models online to better understand the description and characteristics of the star. In addition, the site has online telescopes that observe the Sun in real time, and a 3D model of the Solar System with all the planets, a map of the Sun and a view of the surface. Be sure to check the calendar pages to find out when the next solar eclipse will be.

The Moon shines with the reflected light of the Sun; therefore, when it falls into the shadow of the Earth (Fig. 30), it stops shining - a lunar eclipse occurs. Strictly speaking, the Moon continues to shine due to the fact that part of the Sun’s rays, refracted in the Earth’s atmosphere, illuminates the Moon, and we see it in the form of a dark red disk. Blue rays are scattered in the earth's atmosphere, as a result a person sees a blue sky during the day and a red Sun at sunset.

The Earth's shadow has the shape of a cone, the cross-sectional diameter of which at the distance of the Moon is 2.5 times greater than the diameter of the Moon, which is why a lunar eclipse lasts quite a long time. The maximum duration of a total lunar eclipse is 1 hour 45 minutes. The eclipse is visible across the entire night hemisphere of the Earth. There may be an eclipse complete, if the Moon enters the shadow completely, or private, if only part of the Moon falls into the shadow.

When the shadow of the Moon falls on the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs (Fig. 30). It may be complete where the shadow falls and private in the semi-shade area. If at the moment of an eclipse the Moon is at the farthest point in its orbit from the Earth, and the Earth is at the closest point to the Sun, then the disk of the Moon does not completely cover the disk of the Sun, and annular eclipse.

The Moon's shadow traces a long strip on Earth no more than 200 km wide; the width of the penumbra can be several thousand kilometers. Therefore, total solar eclipses are visible in each specific area very rarely, on average once every 300 years. In Moscow, the next total eclipse of the Sun will be in 2126 (the previous one was in 1887). The maximum duration of a total solar eclipse (at the equator) is 7.5 minutes. In areas far from the equator, an eclipse, as a rule, lasts no more than 2-2.5 minutes.

An eclipse can only occur on a full moon (lunar) or a new moon (solar). Figures 31, 32 show the projections onto the celestial sphere of the disks of the Moon and the Sun for the moments of three consecutive new moons and two consecutive full moons. The angle between the ecliptic and the lunar orbit is greatly exaggerated.

Transit of Venus across the sun

Twice per century, Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun so that its disk is projected onto the disk of the Sun (Fig. 9). Such a passage, for example, took place on June 8, 2004 at 9:10-20 minutes Moscow time. It lasted about 6 hours (for each observation location, the start and end times of the passage are slightly different). You need to observe the passage on a screen on which the image of the Sun is projected. The planet is visible as a small dark circle moving against the background of the solar disk. If the diameter of the projection of the solar disk is 10 cm (which is accessible to a school telescope), then the diameter of the projection of Venus is 3 mm. Only people with very acute vision can see it with the naked eye (protected by a dense filter). It is very interesting to observe the moment when the planet crosses the edge of the Sun's disk. It was at such a moment, in 1761, that M.V. Lomonosov noticed that the disk of Venus, which had already partially crossed the edge of the disk, was surrounded by radiance (Fig. 10). He quite correctly concluded that this is the result of the refraction of light from the Sun in the upper layers

ECLIPSE, I, Wed (or solar eclipse). Murder. To make an eclipse to whom to scold, scold, punish, etc.; kill someone From ug... Dictionary of Russian argot

See Eclipses... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Noun, number of synonyms: 1 foresight (22) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

solar eclipse- Saulės užtemimas statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: engl. solar eclipse vok. Sonnenfinsternis, f rus. solar eclipse, n; solar eclipse, n pranc. éclipse du Soleil, f; éclipse solaire, f… Fizikos terminų žodynas

See Eclipses. * * * SOLAR ECLIPSE SOLAR ECLIPSE, see Eclipses (see Eclipses) ... encyclopedic Dictionary

An eclipse caused by the Earth falling into the shadow cast by the Moon... Astronomical Dictionary

See Eclipses... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

See Eclipses... Natural science. encyclopedic Dictionary

Classification Saros 126 (47 of 72) Gamma 0.08307 Lunar month ... Wikipedia

Books

Total solar eclipse on July 16, 1851. , Medler I.G.. The book is a reprint of 1850. Despite the fact that serious work has been done to restore the original quality of the publication, some pages may...

Eclipse- an astronomical situation in which one celestial body blocks the light from another celestial body.

Most famous lunar And solar eclipses. There are also such phenomena as the passage of planets (Mercury and Venus) across the disk of the Sun.

Moon eclipse

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon enters the cone of the shadow cast by the Earth. The diameter of the Earth's shadow spot at a distance of 363,000 km (the minimum distance of the Moon from the Earth) is about 2.5 times the diameter of the Moon, so the entire Moon may be obscured.

Lunar eclipse diagram

At each moment of the eclipse, the degree of coverage of the Moon's disk by the earth's shadow is expressed by the eclipse phase F. The magnitude of the phase is determined by the distance 0 from the center of the Moon to the center of the shadow. Astronomical calendars give the values of Ф and 0 for different moments of the eclipse.

When the Moon completely enters the Earth's shadow during an eclipse, it is said to be total lunar eclipse, when partially - about partial eclipse. Two necessary and sufficient conditions for the occurrence of a lunar eclipse are the full moon and the proximity of the Earth to lunar node.

As can be seen for an observer on Earth, on the imaginary celestial sphere the Moon crosses the ecliptic twice a month at positions called nodes. The full moon can fall on such a position, on a node, then a lunar eclipse can be observed. (Note: not to scale)

Full eclipse

A lunar eclipse can be observed over half of the Earth's territory (where the Moon is above the horizon at the time of the eclipse). The appearance of the darkened Moon from any observation point differs negligibly from another point, and is the same. The maximum theoretically possible duration of the total phase of a lunar eclipse is 108 minutes; These were, for example, the lunar eclipses of July 26, 1953, and July 16, 2000. In this case, the Moon passes through the center of the earth's shadow; total lunar eclipses of this type are called central, they differ from the non-central ones in the longer duration and lower brightness of the Moon during the total phase of the eclipse.

During an eclipse (even a total one), the Moon does not disappear completely, but turns dark red. This fact is explained by the fact that the Moon continues to be illuminated even in the phase of total eclipse. The sun's rays passing tangentially to the earth's surface are scattered in the earth's atmosphere and due to this scattering they partially reach the moon. Since the earth's atmosphere is most transparent to rays of the red-orange part of the spectrum, it is these rays that reach the surface of the Moon to a greater extent during an eclipse, which explains the color of the lunar disk. Essentially, this is the same effect as the orange-red glow of the sky near the horizon (dawn) before sunrise or just after sunset. To estimate the brightness of an eclipse it is used Danjon scale.

An observer located on the Moon, at the moment of a total (or partial, if he is on the shadowed part of the Moon) lunar eclipse sees a total solar eclipse (eclipse of the Sun by the Earth).

Danjon scale used to estimate the degree of darkening of the Moon during a total lunar eclipse. Proposed by astronomer Andre Danjon as a result of research into such a phenomenon as ashen moonlight when the Moon is illuminated by light passing through the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere. The brightness of the Moon during an eclipse also depends on how deeply the Moon entered the Earth's shadow.

Two total lunar eclipses. Corresponding to 2 (left) and 4 (right) on the Danjon scale

Ash Moonlight - a phenomenon when we see the entire Moon, although only part of it is illuminated by the Sun. At the same time, the part of the Moon’s surface not illuminated by direct sunlight has a characteristic ashen color.

Ash Moonlight

It is observed shortly before and shortly after the new moon (at the beginning of the first quarter and at the end of the last quarter of the moon phases).

The glow of the surface of the Moon, not illuminated by direct sunlight, is formed by sunlight scattered by the Earth, and then reflected again by the Moon to the Earth. Thus, the route of photons of the Moon's ashen light is as follows: Sun → Earth → Moon → observer on Earth.

Photon route when observing ashen light: Sun → Earth → Moon → Earth

The reason for this phenomenon has been well known since Leonardo da Vinci And Mikhail Mestlin,

Alleged Self-Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci

Michael Möstlin

teachers Kepler, who for the first time gave the correct explanation for the ashen light.

Johannes Kepler

The crescent moon with ashen light, drawn by Leonardo da Vinci in the Codex Leicester

The first instrumental comparisons of the brightness of the ashen light and the crescent moon were made in 1850 by French astronomers Arago And Lozhie.

Dominique Francois Jean Arago

The bright crescent is the part directly illuminated by the Sun. The rest of the Moon is illuminated by light reflected from the Earth

Photographic studies of the ashen light of the Moon at the Pulkovo Observatory, carried out G. A. Tikhov, led him to the conclusion that the Earth from the Moon should look like a bluish disk, which was confirmed in 1969, when man landed on the Moon.

Gabriel Adrianovich Tikhov

He considered it important to conduct systematic observations of the ashen light. Observations of the ashen light of the Moon allow us to judge the change in the Earth's climate. The intensity of the ashen color depends to some extent on the amount of cloud cover on the currently illuminated side of the Earth; For the European part of Russia, bright ashen light reflected from powerful cyclonic activity in the Atlantic predicts precipitation in 7-10 days.

Partial eclipse

If the Moon falls into the total shadow of the Earth only partially, it is observed partial eclipse. With it, part of the Moon is dark, and part, even in its maximum phase, remains in partial shade and is illuminated by the sun's rays.

View of the Moon during a lunar eclipse

Penumbral eclipse

Around the cone of the Earth's shadow there is a penumbra - a region of space in which the Earth only partially obscures the Sun. If the Moon passes through the penumbra region, but does not enter the shadow, it occurs penumbral eclipse. With it, the brightness of the Moon decreases, but only slightly: such a decrease is almost imperceptible to the naked eye and is recorded only by instruments. Only when the Moon in a penumbral eclipse passes near the cone of total shadow can a slight darkening at one edge of the lunar disk be noticed in a clear sky.

Periodicity

Due to the discrepancy between the planes of the lunar and earth's orbits, not every full moon is accompanied by a lunar eclipse, and not every lunar eclipse is a total one. The maximum number of lunar eclipses per year is 3, but in some years there is not a single lunar eclipse. Eclipses repeat in the same order every 6585⅓ days (or 18 years 11 days and ~8 hours - a period called Saros); Knowing where and when a total lunar eclipse was observed, you can accurately determine the time of subsequent and previous eclipses that are clearly visible in this area. This cyclicality often helps to accurately date events described in historical records.

Saros or draconian period, consisting of 223 synodic months(an average of approximately 6585.3213 days or 18.03 tropical years), after which the eclipses of the Moon and the Sun approximately repeat in the same order.

Synodic(from ancient Greek σύνοδος “connection, rapprochement”) month- the period of time between two successive identical phases of the Moon (for example, new moons). Duration is variable; the average value is 29.53058812 average solar days (29 days 12 hours 44 minutes 2.8 seconds), the actual duration of the synodic month differs from the average within 13 hours.

Anomalistic month- the period of time between two successive passages of the Moon through perigee in its movement around the Earth. The duration at the beginning of 1900 was 27.554551 average solar days (27 days 13 hours 18 minutes 33.16 seconds), decreasing by 0.095 seconds per 100 years.

This period is a consequence of the fact that the 223 synodic months of the Moon (18 calendar years and 10⅓ or 11⅓ days, depending on the number of leap years in a given period) are almost equal to 242 draconic months (6585.36 days), that is, after 6585⅓ days the Moon returns to the same syzygy and to the orbital node. The second luminary important for the onset of the eclipse - the Sun - returns to the same node, since almost an integer number of draconic years (19, or 6585.78 days) pass - the periods of the Sun's passage through the same node of the Moon's orbit. In addition, 239 anomalistic months The Moons are 6585.54 days long, so the corresponding eclipses in each Saros occur at the same distance of the Moon from the Earth and have the same duration. During one Saros, on average, 41 solar eclipses occur (of which approximately 10 are total) and 29 lunar eclipses. They first learned to predict lunar eclipses using saros in ancient Babylon. The best opportunities for predicting eclipses are provided by a period equal to triple Saros - exeligmos, containing an integer number of days, which was used in the Antikythera Mechanism.

Berosus calls a calendar period of 3600 years a saros; smaller periods were called: neros at 600 years and sosos at 60 years.

Solar eclipse

The longest solar eclipse occurred on January 15, 2010 in Southeast Asia and lasted more than 11 minutes.

A solar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon in which the Moon covers (eclipses) all or part of the Sun from an observer on Earth. A solar eclipse is only possible during a new moon, when the side of the Moon facing the Earth is not illuminated and the Moon itself is not visible. Eclipses are only possible if the new moon occurs near one of the two lunar nodes (the point where the visible orbits of the Moon and the Sun intersect), no more than about 12 degrees from one of them.

The Moon's shadow on the earth's surface does not exceed 270 km in diameter, so a solar eclipse is observed only in a narrow strip along the path of the shadow. Since the Moon revolves in an elliptical orbit, the distance between the Earth and the Moon at the time of an eclipse can be different; accordingly, the diameter of the lunar shadow spot on the Earth’s surface can vary widely from maximum to zero (when the top of the lunar shadow cone does not reach the Earth’s surface). If the observer is in the shadow band, he sees total solar eclipse in which the Moon completely hides the Sun, the sky darkens, and planets and bright stars may appear on it. Around the solar disk hidden by the Moon you can observe solar corona, which is not visible in the normal bright light of the Sun.

Elongated corona shape during the total solar eclipse of August 1, 2008 (close to the minimum between solar cycles 23 and 24)

When an eclipse is observed by a stationary ground-based observer, the total phase lasts no more than a few minutes. The minimum speed of movement of the lunar shadow on the earth's surface is just over 1 km/s. During a total solar eclipse, astronauts in orbit can observe the running shadow of the Moon on the Earth's surface.

Observers close to the total eclipse can see it as partial solar eclipse. During a partial eclipse, the Moon passes across the disk of the Sun not exactly in the center, hiding only part of it. At the same time, the sky darkens much less than during a total eclipse, and the stars do not appear. A partial eclipse can be observed at a distance of about two thousand kilometers from the total eclipse zone.

The totality of a solar eclipse is also expressed by the phase Φ . The maximum phase of a partial eclipse is usually expressed in hundredths of unity, where 1 is the total phase of the eclipse. The total phase can be greater than unity, for example 1.01, if the diameter of the visible lunar disk is greater than the diameter of the visible solar disk. Partial phases have a value less than 1. At the edge of the lunar penumbra, the phase is 0.

The moment when the leading/rear edge of the Moon's disk touches the edge of the Sun is called touch. The first touch is the moment when the Moon enters the disk of the Sun (the beginning of an eclipse, its partial phase). The last touch (the fourth in the case of a total eclipse) is the last moment of the eclipse, when the Moon leaves the disk of the Sun. In the case of a total eclipse, the second touch is the moment when the front of the Moon, having passed across the entire Sun, begins to emerge from the disk. A total solar eclipse occurs between the second and third touches. In 600 million years, tidal braking will move the Moon so far away from the Earth that a total solar eclipse will become impossible.

Astronomical classification of solar eclipses

According to astronomical classification, if an eclipse at least somewhere on the Earth's surface can be observed as total, it is called full.

Diagram of a total solar eclipse

If an eclipse can only be observed as a partial eclipse (this happens when the cone of the Moon's shadow passes close to the Earth's surface, but does not touch it), the eclipse is classified as private. When an observer is in the shadow of the Moon, he is observing a total solar eclipse. When he is in the penumbra region, he can observe a partial solar eclipse. In addition to total and partial solar eclipses, there are annular eclipses.

Animated annular eclipse

Diagram of an annular solar eclipse

An annular eclipse occurs when, at the time of the eclipse, the Moon is further away from the Earth than during a total eclipse, and the cone of the shadow passes over the Earth's surface without reaching it. Visually, during an annular eclipse, the Moon passes across the disk of the Sun, but it turns out to be smaller in diameter than the Sun, and cannot hide it completely. In the maximum phase of the eclipse, the Sun is covered by the Moon, but around the Moon a bright ring of the uncovered part of the solar disk is visible. During an annular eclipse, the sky remains bright, stars do not appear, and it is impossible to observe the solar corona. The same eclipse can be visible in different parts of the eclipse band as total or annular. This type of eclipse is sometimes called a total annular (or hybrid) eclipse.

The shadow of the Moon on Earth during an eclipse, photograph from the ISS. The photo shows Cyprus and Türkiye

Frequency of solar eclipses

From 2 to 5 solar eclipses can occur on Earth per year, of which no more than two are total or annular. On average, 237 solar eclipses occur per hundred years, of which 160 are partial, 63 are total, 14 are annular. At a certain point on the earth's surface, eclipses in a large phase occur quite rarely, and total solar eclipses are observed even more rarely. Thus, on the territory of Moscow from the 11th to the 18th centuries, 159 solar eclipses with a phase greater than 0.5 could be observed, of which only 3 were total (August 11, 1124, March 20, 1140, and June 7, 1415). Another total solar eclipse occurred on August 19, 1887. An annular eclipse could be observed in Moscow on April 26, 1827. A very strong eclipse with a phase of 0.96 occurred on July 9, 1945. The next total solar eclipse is expected in Moscow only on October 16, 2126.

Mention of eclipses in historical documents

Solar eclipses are often mentioned in ancient sources. An even greater number of dated descriptions are contained in Western European medieval chronicles and annals. For example, a solar eclipse is mentioned in the Annals of St. Maximin of Trier: “538 February 16, from the first to the third hour there was a solar eclipse.” A large number of descriptions of solar eclipses from ancient times are also contained in the chronicles of East Asia, primarily in the Dynastic histories of China, in Arab chronicles and Russian chronicles.

Mentions of solar eclipses in historical sources usually provide the opportunity for independent verification or clarification of the chronological relationship of the events described in them. If the eclipse is described in the source in insufficient detail, without indicating the location of observation, calendar date, time and phase, such identification is often ambiguous. In such cases, when ignoring the timing of the source over the entire historical interval, it is often possible to select several possible “candidates” for the role of a historical eclipse, which is actively used by some authors of pseudo-historical theories.

Discoveries made thanks to solar eclipses

Total solar eclipses make it possible to observe the corona and the immediate surroundings of the Sun, which is extremely difficult under normal conditions (although since 1996, astronomers have been able to constantly observe the surroundings of our star thanks to the work SOHO satellite(English) SolarandHeliosphericObservatory- solar and heliospheric observatory).

SOHO - solar observation spacecraft

French scientist Pierre Jansen During a total solar eclipse in India on August 18, 1868, he first explored the chromosphere of the Sun and obtained the spectrum of a new chemical element

Pierre Jules César Jansen

(although, as it turned out later, this spectrum could be obtained without waiting for a solar eclipse, which was done two months later by the English astronomer Norman Lockyer). This element was named after the Sun - helium.

In 1882, on May 17, during a solar eclipse, observers from Egypt noticed a comet flying near the Sun. She got the name Eclipse comets, although it has another name - comet Tewfik(in honor of Khedive Egypt at that time).

1882 Eclipse Comet(modern official designation: X/1882 K1) is a comet that was discovered by observers in Egypt during a solar eclipse of 1882.Her appearance was a complete surprise, and she was observed during an eclipse for the first and last time. She is a member of the familycircumsolar comets Kreutz Sungrazers, and was 4 months ahead of the appearance of another member of this family - the large September comet of 1882. Sometimes she is called comet Tewfik in honor of the Khedive of Egypt at that time Tevfika.

Khedive(khedive, khedif) (Persian - lord, sovereign) - the title of the Vice-Sultan of Egypt, which existed during the period of Egypt's dependence on Turkey (1867-1914). This title was held by Ismail, Tawfik and Abbas II.

Taufik Pasha

The role of eclipses in the culture and science of mankind

Since ancient times, solar and lunar eclipses, like other rare astronomical phenomena such as the appearance of comets, have been perceived as negative events. People were very afraid of eclipses, since they occur rarely and are unusual and frightening natural phenomena. In many cultures, eclipses were considered harbingers of misfortune and disaster (especially lunar eclipses, apparently due to the red color of the shadowed Moon, which was associated with blood). In mythology, eclipses were associated with the struggle of higher powers, one of which wants to disrupt the established order in the world (“extinguish” or “eat” the Sun, “kill” or “drench” the Moon with blood), and the other wants to preserve it. The beliefs of some peoples required complete silence and inaction during eclipses, while others, on the contrary, required active witchcraft to help the “light forces”. To some extent, this attitude towards eclipses persisted until modern times, despite the fact that the mechanism of eclipses had long been studied and generally known.

Eclipses have provided rich material for science. In ancient times, observations of eclipses helped to study celestial mechanics and understand the structure of the solar system. The observation of the Earth's shadow on the Moon provided the first “cosmic” evidence of the fact that our planet is spherical. Aristotle was the first to point out that the shape of the earth's shadow during lunar eclipses is always round, which proves the sphericity of the Earth. Solar eclipses made it possible to begin studying the corona of the Sun, which cannot be observed during normal times. During solar eclipses, the phenomena of gravitational curvature of light rays near a significant mass were first recorded, which became one of the first experimental proofs of the conclusions of the general theory of relativity. Observations of their passages across the solar disk played a major role in the study of the inner planets of the solar system. Thus, Lomonosov, observing the passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun in 1761, for the first time (30 years before Schröter and Herschel) discovered the Venusian atmosphere, discovering the refraction of solar rays when Venus enters and exits the solar disk.