What Causes A Solar Eclipse Yahoo Answers

The phenomenon is actually an occultation.

What causes a solar eclipse yahoo answers.

In ancient times and in some cultures today solar eclipses have been attributed to supernatural causes. A solar eclipse is actually a misnomer. No comets or asteroids are large enough to eclipse the sun. In a total solar eclipse the moon completely covers the sun.

Of the moon on the earth is very tiny. No planets can cause a solar eclipse. In a solar eclipse the moon passes between earth and the sun and stops some or all of the sun s light from reaching earth. The recent solar eclipse of january 26 2009 was an annular eclipse see below while the solar eclipse of july 22 2009 was a total solar eclipse.

Watching the sun for a few seconds could cause solar poisoning that leads to permanent damages in the sight and in simple cases could affect the eye s ability to recognise colour. Usually there is never a solar eclipse if the moon were exactly lined up wed have one every month. A solar eclipse does not cause blindness. Mercury and venus can transit the face of the sun but they are very much smaller than the sun so don t eclipse it.

The sight of solar eclipse is astonishing and hard to be missed but people should take extra precautions as the sun rays could lead to serious complications in the eyes. There are three kinds of solar eclipses. The moon orbits the earth in a wobbly fashion for lack of a better word. The total or annular eclipse begins when the moon s umbra starts to sweep across the earth s surface.

A partial solar eclipse could damage your vision if you look at it without eye protection which ultimately could lead to blindness. The problem is that some people don t know when to quit and the novelty of the eclipse causes them to stare at it for so long it causes retinal damage. General phases of a solar eclipse the general eclipse begins when the moon s penumbra cone starts to sweep across the earth s surface. A total eclipse is when the moon passes directly in front of the sun and the actual shadow.

There s nothing about the sun s rays that change during a solar eclipse it s actually okay to glance at it briefly.