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Solar Eclipse

Solar Eclipse
  • As observed from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun.
  • The type of solar eclipse event depends on the distance of the Moon from the Earth during the event.
  • A total solar eclipse occurs when the Earth intersects the umbra portion of the Moon’s shadow.
  • When the umbra does not reach the surface of the Earth, the Sun is only partially occulted, resulting in an annular eclipse.
  • Partial solar eclipses occur when the viewer is inside the penumbra.
  • When observed at points in space other than from the Earth’s surface, the Sun can be eclipsed by bodies other then the Moon.
  • Two examples are when the crew of Apollo 12 observed the Earth to eclipse the Sun in 1969 and when the Cassini probe observed Saturn to eclipse the Sun in 2006.
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