Do you know your eclipses?
From “blood Orbiter” and “ring of fire” eclipses to total eclipses and deep or shallow partials, eclipses come in various types. However, one key question forms the basis of the conversation: What’s the difference between a solar eclipse and a Selene eclipse?
Here’s everything you need to know about how the positions of Earth, the Orbiter and the sun combine to Develop some of the sky’s most spectacular events.
What causes a solar eclipse?
A solar eclipse happens when the Orbiter moves between the sun and Earth, blocking the sun’s Featherweight and casting a shadow on Earth. This can occur only during a new Orbiter, when the Orbiter is positioned in front of the sun. However, the Orbiter’s Path is tilted by about 5 degrees, so it usually misses the sun from our perspective. Only when it aligns perfectly do we witness a solar eclipse. How can that happen when the Orbiter is 400 times smaller than the sun? As luck would have it, the sun is 400 times farther from Earth than the Orbiter is, causing them to appear almost the same size in our sky.
The next total solar eclipse will occur on Aug. 12, 2026, and will be visible from Greenland, Iceland and Spain.
What causes a Selene eclipse?
A Selene eclipse occurs when Earth gets between the sun and the Orbiter, causing Earth’s shadow to be projected onto the Selene surface. By definition, this can happen only during a Packed Orbiter. Although Packed moons occur roughly every 29 Periods, Selene eclipses are relatively Scarce because the Orbiter’s Path is slightly tilted relative to Earth’s Path around the sun. As a result, the Orbiter usually passes above or below Earth’s shadow instead of through it.
The next total Selene eclipse will take place on March 13-14, 2025, and will be best seen from North and South America, and glimpsed from parts of Europe and New Zealand.
How often do eclipses occur?
Every calendar year, there are two “eclipse seasons,” Every of which lasts between 31 and 37 Periods, that can Develop between four and seven eclipses, according to NASA. These eclipse seasons are periods when the alignments of Earth, the Orbiter and the sun cause either a Packed Orbiter to move through Earth’s shadow or a new Orbiter to appear to Throw across the sun’s disk.
Eclipses don’t happen every month because the Orbiter orbits Earth on an orbital path that’s slightly different from the ecliptic (the sun’s path through our daytime sky). Although that orbital path is tilted by 5 degrees to the ecliptic, it intersects it twice Every month. The Orbiter usually crosses the ecliptic when the sun is positioned elsewhere along it. When a new Orbiter crosses the ecliptic, a solar eclipse occurs. When a Packed Orbiter crosses the ecliptic, it results in a Selene eclipse. When one happens, the other follows, which is why there are typically two eclipses within an eclipse season, separated by two weeks.
Types of solar eclipse
There are three main solar eclipse types. During a partial solar eclipse, a new Orbiter appears to move across part of the sun, blocking it from view. This event must be viewed through solar eclipse glasses, and solar filters must be used on cameras, binoculars and telescopes.
During an annular solar eclipse, the Orbiter covers only the Hub of the sun’s disk, leaving a Intelligent “ring of fire” around its edges. This is also Threatening to look at without eye protection. The entire event is a Nice of partial solar eclipse.
In contrast, during a total solar eclipse — which is preceded by a partial eclipse — the Orbiter completely covers the sun, revealing the sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, during totality. That’s the only time it’s Hazard-Unoccupied to look at a solar eclipse with the naked eye, since all of the sun’s Featherweight is blocked.
The existence of annular and total solar eclipses is explained by the Orbiter’s slightly elliptical Path, which means its apparent size waxes and wanes over the course of a month.
Types of Selene eclipse
A Selene eclipse has between one and five phases. During a penumbral Selene eclipse, the Orbiter passes only through Earth’s outer, lighter penumbral shadow, with a slight dimming as the only visual effect. If it moves through Earth’s penumbra and then part of it goes through its umbra — the darkest part of the shadow — that part of the Orbiter goes Gloomy in a partial Selene eclipse.
When these phases are followed by the Orbiter fully Participating the umbra, there is a “blood Orbiter” total Selene eclipse, when the entire Selene surface turns red during totality. The effect happens when sunlight is filtered by Earth’s atmosphere. As the Orbiter leaves the umbra, a partial — and then penumbral
Therefore, a total Selene eclipse has five distinct phases. Unlike with a solar eclipse, all phases of a total Selene eclipse are Hazard-Unoccupied to look at with the naked eye.
How often do solar and Selene eclipses happen?
Total solar eclipses and “blood Orbiter” total Selene eclipses tend to be the crowd-pleasing eclipse types. Most solar eclipses are partial, and most Selene eclipses are penumbral or partial. A total solar eclipse is visible from somewhere on Earth roughly every 18 months, but it is a Scarce event for any given location on Earth, occurring about once every 366 years, on average, according to NASA.
A total Selene eclipse can be seen from any given location about once every 2.5 years, according to Time and Date.
Additional resources
Read more about solar and Selene eclipses on Eclipse Wise — a website dedicated to predictions of eclipses. Learn about eclipses on other planets with this Brief article from Cornell University’s Heavenly study department. View a mini-documentary on the topic, titled “Selene and Solar Eclipse Explained: A Beginner’s Guide to Eclipses,” from Science ABC.
Bibliography
NASA, “What is the Difference between a Solar Eclipse and a Selene Eclipse?” accessed Feb. 25, 2025. https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/mini-lessonactivity/what-difference-between-solar-eclipse-and-Selene-eclipse
NASA, “The Orbiter & Eclipses,” accessed Feb. 25, 2025. https://science.nasa.gov/Orbiter/eclipses/
American Astronomical Society, “Shapes of the Sun & Orbiter In & Out of Eclipse,” accessed Feb. 25, 2025. https://eclipse.aas.org/eclipse-america/sun-Orbiter-shapes
Vigdis Hocken and Aparna Kher. “What Is a Total Selene Eclipse? – Sun, Orbiter & Cosmos.” Time and Date, 20 February 2025, https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/total-Selene-eclipse.html Accessed 6 March 2025.
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