![]() They may become nervous or confused during the event, especially if they are outside, but you don’t need to worry about protecting their eyes or leaving them inside all day. Your pets won’t be looking at the Sun so they won’t have any issues. If you are observing the eclipse, implement proper eye protection methods and make sure you protect yourself as you would with any other outdoor activity such as wearing weather-appropriate clothing and sunscreen. The Moon is simply passing in front of it. The Sun isn’t putting out extra radiation. Many people worry about other effects such as increased radiation or if their pets will be safe. Check out more about solar eclipse viewing safety here.***īe on the lookout for local community observing events that will often have safe viewing methods available such as eclipse glasses, telescopes with solar filters, and pinhole projector activities. Otherwise, they risk eye damage from staring at the direct light from the Sun for so long. ***Except for the few minutes of totality during a total solar eclipse, observers MUST use a safe viewing method such as certified eclipse glasses or indirect viewing methods like a pinhole projector. Eye safety is paramount when planning for an eclipse. During an event like an eclipse, people want to observe it for long periods of time. Usually, we don’t have to worry about this as we don’t have a reason to observe the Sun for extended periods of time. The shadow may be narrow with the total eclipse only lasting a few minutes, but Earth rotates fast enough that the shadow travels a third of the way around the Earth’s surface before the Moon moves away from alignment with the Sun.ĭirectly looking at the Sun for any period of time is dangerous as it can cause damage to your eyes. Observers in the umbra will see a total eclipse while those in the penumbra will see a partial eclipse. This shadow has two parts: the umbra where the Sun is completely blocked and the penumbra where the Sun is partially obscured. Solar eclipses are only visible within this shadow (only about 300 miles or 480 km wide) and therefore cover a small area of Earth, often over the ocean, making it rarer to observe one unless you schedule it ahead of time. However, when the orbits line up exactly, the moon crosses directly across the Sun, covering it and casting a shadow across the Earth, blocking or partially blocking our view of the Sun. ![]() ![]() Normally, during the New Moon phase, the moon simply disappears as we “see” its nighttime side. Solar eclipses happen at the New Moon phase when the Moon is directly between the Sun and the Earth, but doubly so. In about 600 million years, it will move far enough away that it will be too small from the perspective of Earth to cover the Sun. It started much closer to the Earth and has been slowly drifting outward at about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) per year. In fact, the Moon did not always eclipse the Sun and will not always continue to do so. ![]() This is not always the case, meaning that not every moon in the solar system eclipses the Sun like ours does. While the Moon’s diameter is 400 times smaller than the Sun’s, it is also roughly 400 times closer to Earth than the Sun, meaning they both appear about the same size in our sky. During a solar eclipse, the Moon appears to cover up the Sun. Let’s start with the one you are probably most familiar with: the solar eclipse. There are two types of eclipses: solar and lunar, determined by which body is being eclipsed. Anywhere from four to seven times a year, these three astronomical bodies line up just right to create these dramatic shadow shows. In this case, we see the Moon appear to cover the Sun from our perspective here on Earth or see the effect of the Earth covering the Sun on the Moon.ĭue to the Moon’s slight 5-degree tilt relative to its axis and the plane of orbit and the 23.5-degree axial tilt of the Earth, an eclipse does not occur each month as the Moon orbits the Earth. The motions of the Moon orbiting the Earth as it orbits the Sun create interesting interactions, the most dramatic of which are known as eclipses.Įclipses occur when one astronomical body appears to cover another body from the observation of a third body. The Moon orbits the Earth at an average of 238,855 miles (384,399 km) away in an elliptical orbit once every 27.322 days, creating phases in our night sky as its illuminated side points toward us and away from us at different angles in different parts of its orbit.
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