What is a solar eclipse? Understand how phenomenon occurs

One Partial solar eclipse happens this Saturday (29) visible only from the northern hemisphere and invisible to Brazil, marking the second phenomenon of the type of this month – which had a total eclipse of the moon on the 14th.

Eclipses happen when an object in space, like a planet or moon, goes through the shadow of another celestial body in space. On Earth we can see the lunars and solar.

If a few weeks ago it was the land that placed itself between the moon and sun, projecting its shadow over our natural satellite and causing a lunar eclipse, this time is The moon that will be placed between our planet and the sun in a solar eclipse.

A partial eclipse of the sun happens when the moon is positioned between the star and our planet, blocking a part of the sun’s rays and making the sun appear to have been “bitten” in the sky.

Last year, there was a total eclipse of the sun, in which the moon completely blocks the rays of the star’s visible face to the observers of some points on the earth, causing the day to turn night for a few minutes. In this week’s eclipse, however, the central part of the moon’s shadow will not reach Earth, making everyone see the eclipse partially on our planet.

According to NASA, partial solar eclipses occur at least twice a year in some place on Earth. Total solar eclipses happen on average every 18 months somewhere on the planet – hardly in the planet.

It is possible to classify the phenomenon in three types:

  • Total Solar Eclipse: Visible only in a small area of ​​the earth, when the person is in the center of the shadow of the moon when he reaches the earth. For a total eclipse to occur, the sun, the moon and the earth must be completely aligned. Outside this small area of ​​the planet, it is also possible to observe the phenomenon partially.
  • Partial solar eclipse: It happens when the sun, moon and earth are not exactly aligned. The sun seems to have a dark shadow in a small part of its surface, like a “bite.”
  • Solar eclipse nullify: It occurs when the moon is farther from the earth and looks smaller. Because it does not block the entire view of the sun, the moon looks like a dark disc in front of the star.

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Was this content originally published in what is a solar eclipse? Understand how phenomenon occurs on the CNN Brazil website.

Source: CNN Brasil

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