Solar and lunar eclipses are among the events that excite many of us. You must have heard the saying, “One side of the moon is always dark”. dark side of the moonturned to the sun today.

Indeed, when it comes to solar eclipses, some questions arise. one of them How the Moon Blocks the Sun. In today’s article, we’ll look at how a solar eclipse occurs and how the sun’s light is dimmed.

First of all, let’s remember what a solar eclipse is.

We all know that solar and lunar eclipses are different things. But what both have in common is the moon’s rotation around the Earth. During a solar eclipse, the Moon Between Earth and Sun when taking a position; At the lunar eclipse at the back of the world is positioned.

So why doesn’t the moon always cause a solar eclipse while constantly orbiting us?

The moon throws around the earth a full tour about 1 month progress. However, we do not experience a solar eclipse every month. The main reason for this is the way the moon revolves around the earth.

About at an angle of 5 degrees The rotating Moon does not rotate in a full circle. Therefore, it does not always come between the sun and the earth. Usually a part of the earth that faces the sun above or below it moves. Therefore, we would not experience a solar eclipse every month. In fact, today there can be 2 to 4 eclipses per year.

However, these eclipses are not always and everywhere observed ‘completely’.

solar eclipse whole, ringed or partial is divided into three. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon turns its dark side completely toward the sun. When the moon is exactly in front of the sun, we only see a luminous circle. This circle we see is the corona of the sun, also called the ‘crown of the sun’. is the flaming part of the atmosphere.

Again, this is not always the case because of the moon’s ecliptic orbit, and the same way all over the world not observed. For example, the total solar eclipse that we see can be observed as a partial eclipse in different parts of the Earth.

How come the moon, which is about 400 times smaller than the sun, can almost completely block our light?

In fact, a little perspective knowledge is sufficient for this. Anyone who paints or is interested knows that there is a rule of thumb in perspective: what is close appears larger and what is far away is smaller. Now if we go back to our subject; The moon is about 400 times smaller than the sun.

In other words, we would see a total solar eclipse in a scenario where the moon and sun are equidistant from each other. will not be possible. At this point, one of the reasons why we don’t always see the eclipse in full comes to the fore. Because the moon doesn’t always revolve in front of the sun, nor is it always at the same distance. At this point, we experience partial or annular solar eclipses.

Let’s also look at partial or annular solar eclipses.

Partial eclipse, as you can understand from the name, is the Moon before the Sun. not completely closedEclipse If the Moon is further from the Sun in the eclipse position, then an annular eclipse will occur and the Sun will not be completely closed.

In these eclipses, where the sun is not completely closed, the moon may be closer to the earth, lower or higher than the sun. In other words, for a total solar eclipse to occur, both the Moon and Earth must be in the right position and on our planet from the right angle We should be watching the solar eclipse.

Eclipses can come to an end if the moon’s orbit continues to expand.

Actually, we all know this. Because the aspects that we call New Moon, Full Moon, First Quarter, Last Quarter and Crescent Moon are the manifestations of the Moon. from his position in orbit arises. When the next solar eclipse Apr 8, 2024 is expected to take place. But the moon continues to expand its orbit.

The Moon’s Orbit, According to Research about 3.8 cm more per year To grow. While these numbers may seem small at the moment, over time the moon will appear smaller and smaller from our planet. In other words, it will be difficult for the sun to completely block its way, and eventually the eclipse will be a thing of the past. However, according to estimates we have 600 million years there is more.

Although the solar eclipses we see during the New Moon phase of the Moon occur almost every year, most are caused by the Earth alone. of a small part can be seen. Therefore, if you can see a solar eclipse, you are witnessing a rare moment.

Sources: NASA 1, NASA 2, NASA 3, SpacePlace, Exploratorium,