Solar and lunar eclipse

Solar eclipse only occurs at New Moon, when the Moon passes between the Sun and
Earth and the Moon's shadow sweeps across a portion of Earth's surface and an eclipse of
the Sun is seen from that region. Solar eclipses are two to five per year, but the ground
covered by totality is only a band of about 30 miles wide, length being that portion of the
globe which is under the moon's shadow.

Lunar eclipse only occurs at full Moon, when the earth passes between the Sun and
Moon and the Earth's shadow sweeps across a portion of Moon's surface and an eclipse of
the Moon is seen. Lunar eclipses are less frequent that solar, and at any given location could
be zero to three per year. Total lunar eclipses are visible everywhere that it is night time as
the event takes place - essentially over half the globe.

Thus, the closest time between solar and lunar eclipse is 2 weeks. Solar eclipse always
occurs at the end of an Islamic month. Lunar eclipse always occurs in the middle of an
Islamic month.

At solar eclipse the sun is partially or totally blocked by the moon. Some people are
confused with this phenomenon that the moon surface is seen, and the Islamic month has
begun. There is a big difference in seeing this dark circle blocking the sun and the visible
Crescent that marks the beginning of an Islamic month.

Let me emphasize that a solar eclipse is the proof of disappearance of the moon and does
not mark the beginning of a month. Few years ago Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi, the Mufti of Egypt
at that time, also said the same thing when the eclipse occurred in Saudi Arabia, and he
said in a fatwa that this was a proof of the disappearance of moon and it is not Hilal nor
should it be taken as a Hilal.

An interesting story of lunar eclipse is related to Columbus, the sailor when one of his
ships was damaged and he stranded all his ships and crew in Jamaica (caribbeans). In the
beginning the crew traded things for food with the natives, but later, the natives bacame
annoyed with some of the less respectful sailors, and refused to deal with Columbus.
Columbus and his crew faced starvation. That's when Columbus used his astronomy
knowledge of precalculated lunar eclipse on February 29, 1504. He told them that he
would remove the moon from the sky if they would not cooperate with him. The natives at
first did not believe him. Then the full moon rose a blood red, then it began to dim. The
natives worried. The moon got very dim; the natives got very worried. Then the moon
disappeared. The natives were in a panic and pleaded with Columbus. Columbus knew
precisely when the moon would reappear. He agreed to bring back the moon in due time, if
they agreed to give him food. The natives agreed, and were awash with relief when the
moon reappeared. Columbus saved himslef and his crew from starvation.
Solar Eclipse

As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the
Earth, and the Moon fully or partially covers the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This
can only happen during a new moon, when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction as seen from
Earth. At least two, and up to five, solar eclipses occur each year; no more than two can be total
eclipses.[1][2] Total solar eclipses are nevertheless rare at any particular location because totality
exists only along a narrow path on the Earth's surface traced by the Moon's umbra.

Some people, sometimes referred to as "eclipse chasers" or "umbraphiles",[3][4] will travel to

remote locations to observe or witness a predicted central solar eclipse (see Types below). The
solar eclipse of August 11, 1999, in Europe helped to increase public awareness of the
phenomenon[citation needed], which apparently led an unusually large number of journeys made
specifically to witness the annular solar eclipse of October 3, 2005, and of March 29, 2006.

The last total eclipse was the solar eclipse of July 11, 2010; the next will be the solar eclipse of
November 13, 2012. The recent solar eclipse of January 15, 2010, was an annular eclipse (see
Types below); the next annular eclipse will occur on May 20, 2012.

A total solar eclipse is a natural phenomenon. Nevertheless, in ancient times, and in some
cultures today, solar eclipses have been attributed to supernatural causes or regarded as bad
omens. A total solar eclipse can be frightening to people who are unaware of their astronomical
explanation, as the Sun seems to disappear during the day and the sky darkens in a matter of
minutes.

There are four types of solar eclipses:

 A total eclipse occurs when the dark silhouette of the Moon completely obscures the
intensely bright disk of the Sun, allowing the much fainter solar corona to be visible.
During any one eclipse, totality only occurs at best in a narrow track on the surface of the
Earth.
 An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are exactly in line, but the apparent
size of the Moon is smaller than that of the Sun. Hence the Sun appears as a very bright
ring, or annulus, surrounding the outline of the Moon.
 A hybrid eclipse (also called annular/total eclipse) shifts between a total and annular
eclipse. At some points on the surface of the Earth it appears as a total eclipse, whereas at
others it appears as annular. Hybrid eclipses are comparatively rare.
 A partial eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are not exactly in line and the Moon
only partially obscures the Sun. This phenomenon can usually be seen from a large part
of the Earth outside of the track of an annular or total eclipse. However, some eclipses
can only be seen as a partial eclipse, because the umbra passes above the Earth's polar
regions and never intersects the Earth's surface.
The Sun's distance from the Earth is about 390 times the Moon's distance, and the Sun's diameter
is about 400 times the Moon's diameter. Because these ratios are approximately the same, the
Sun and the Moon as seen from Earth appear to be approximately the same size: about 0.5 degree
of arc in angular measure.

The Moon transiting in front of the Sun as seen from STEREO-B on February 25, 2007 at 4.4
times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.[5]

The Moon's orbit around the Earth is an ellipse, as is the Earth's orbit around the Sun; the
apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon therefore vary.[6][7] The magnitude of an eclipse is the ratio of
the apparent size of the Moon to the apparent size of the Sun during an eclipse. An eclipse that
occurs when the Moon is near its closest distance to the Earth (i.e., near its perigee) can be a total
eclipse because the Moon will appear to be large enough to cover completely the Sun's bright
disk, or photosphere; a total eclipse has a magnitude greater than 1. Conversely, an eclipse that
occurs when the Moon is near its farthest distance from the Earth (i.e., near its apogee) can only
be an annular eclipse because the Moon will appear to be slightly smaller than the Sun; the
magnitude of an annular eclipse is less than 1. Slightly more solar eclipses are annular than total
because, on average, the Moon lies too far from Earth to cover the Sun completely. A hybrid
eclipse occurs when the magnitude of an eclipse changes during the event from smaller than one
to larger than one—or vice versa—so the eclipse appears to be total at some locations on Earth
and annular at other locations.[8]

Because the Earth's orbit around the Sun is also elliptical, the Earth's distance from the Sun
similarly varies throughout the year. This affects the apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon in the
same way, but not so much as the Moon's varying distance from the Earth. When the Earth
approaches its farthest distance from the Sun in July, a total eclipse is somewhat more likely,
whereas conditions favor an annular eclipse when the Earth approaches its closest distance to the
Sun in January.

Terminology for central eclipse

Central eclipse is often used as a generic term for a total, annular, or hybrid eclipse. This is,
however, not completely correct: the definition of a central eclipse is an eclipse during which the
central line of the umbra touches the Earth's surface. It is possible, though extremely rare, that
part of the umbra intersects with Earth (thus creating an annular or total eclipse), but not its
central line. This is then called a non-central total or annular eclipse.[9] The next non-central solar
eclipse will be on April 29, 2014. This will be an annular eclipse. The next non-central total solar
eclipse will be on April 9, 2043.[10]

The phases observed during a total eclipse are called:

 First Contact — when the moon's shadow first becomes visible on the solar disk. Some
also name individual phases between First and Second Contact e.g. Pac-Man phase.
  Second Contact — starting with Baily's Beads {caused by light shining through valleys
on the moon's surface} and the Diamond Ring. Almost the entire disk is covered.
 Totality — with the shadow of the moon obscuring the entire disk of the sun and only the
corona visible
 Third Contact — when the first bright light becomes visible and the shadow is moving
away from the sun. Again a Diamond Ring may be observed

Lunar Eclipse

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes behind the earth such that the earth blocks the sun’s rays
from striking the moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned exactly, or very
closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, there is always a full moon the night of a lunar eclipse.
The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon’s location relative to its orbital nodes. The
next total lunar eclipse will occur on December 21, 2010. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be
viewed from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere
on the night side of the Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for
only a few minutes at any given place. Some lunar eclipses have been associated with important
historical events.

The shadow of the Earth can be divided into two distinctive parts: the umbra and penumbra.
Within the umbra, there is no direct solar radiation. However, as a result of the Sun’s large
angular size, solar illumination is only partially blocked in the outer portion of the Earth’s
shadow, which is given the name penumbra.

A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s penumbra. The
penumbra causes a subtle darkening of the Moon's surface. A special type of penumbral eclipse
is a total penumbral eclipse, during which the Moon lies exclusively within the Earth’s
penumbra. Total penumbral eclipses are rare, and when these occur, that portion of the Moon
which is closest to the umbra can appear somewhat darker than the rest of the Moon.

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a portion of the Moon enters the umbra. When the
Moon travels completely into the Earth’s umbra, one observes a total lunar eclipse. The Moon’s
speed through the shadow is about one kilometer per second (2,300 mph), and totality may last
up to nearly 107 minutes. Nevertheless, the total time between the Moon’s first and last contact
with the shadow is much longer, and could last up to 3.8 hours.[1] The relative distance of the
Moon from the Earth at the time of an eclipse can affect the eclipse’s duration. In particular,
when the Moon is near its apogee, the farthest point from the Earth in its orbit, its orbital speed is
the slowest. The diameter of the umbra does not decrease much with distance. Thus, a totally
eclipsed Moon occurring near apogee will lengthen the duration of totality.

A selenelion or selenehelion occurs when both the Sun and the eclipsed Moon can be observed
at the same time. This can only happen just before sunset or just after sunrise, and both bodies
will appear just above the horizon at nearly opposite points in the sky. This arrangement has led
to the phenomenon being referred to as a horizontal eclipse. It happens during every lunar
eclipse at all those places on the Earth where it is sunrise or sunset at the time. Indeed, the
reddened light that reaches the Moon comes from all the simultaneous sunrises and sunsets on
the Earth. Although the Moon is in the Earth’s geometrical shadow, the Sun and the eclipsed
Moon can appear in the sky at the same time because the refraction of light through the Earth’s
atmosphere causes objects near the horizon to appear higher in the sky than their true geometric
position.[2]

The Moon does not completely disappear as it passes through the umbra because of the
refraction of sunlight by the Earth’s atmosphere into the shadow cone; if the Earth had no
atmosphere, the Moon would be completely dark during an eclipse. The red coloring arises
because sunlight reaching the Moon must pass through a long and dense layer of the Earth’s
atmosphere, where it is scattered. Shorter wavelengths are more likely to be scattered by the air
molecules and the small particles, and so by the time the light has passed through the
atmosphere, the longer wavelengths dominate. This resulting light we perceive as red. This is the
same effect that causes sunsets and sunrises to turn the sky a reddish color; an alternative way of
considering the problem is to realize that, as viewed from the Moon, the Sun would appear to be
setting (or rising) behind the Earth.

The amount of refracted light depends on the amount of dust or clouds in the atmosphere; this
also controls how much light is scattered. In general, the dustier the atmosphere, the more that
other wavelengths of light will be removed (compared to red light), leaving the resulting light a
deeper red color. This causes the resulting coppery-red hue of the Moon to vary from one eclipse
to the next. Volcanoes are notable for expelling large quantities of dust into the atmosphere, and
a large eruption shortly before an eclipse can have a large effect on the resulting color.

Eclipse cycles

Every year there are at least two lunar eclipses, although total lunar eclipses are significantly less
common. If one knows the date and time of an eclipse, it is possible to predict the occurrence of
other eclipses using an eclipse cycle like the Saros cycle.