Following the path of totalityĪ total solar eclipse begins as a barely perceptible nibble out of the sun. Special eclipse glasses that filter out the sun's most damaging rays can allow you to view the phenomenon safely, as can instruments fitted with solar filters, or simple devices called pinhole cameras that let you see a solar eclipse indirectly. Looking directly at the sun with your naked eyes, or through unprotected telescopes or binoculars, can cause eye damage and even permanent blindness. Seeing a solar eclipse can be an unforgettable experience, but experts urge caution. People near it see only a partial solar eclipse, in which not all of the sun is blotted out, while those farther away see no change at all. Only sky watchers within this line-typically 10,000 miles long and just 100 miles wide-experience a total solar eclipse. As the moon moves and Earth spins, this shadow races across the planet's surface at some 1,400 miles an hour, creating a relatively narrow line called the path of totality. However, because the moon orbits Earth at a slight angle, the three bodies will only periodically line up on the same plane to create a solar eclipse.ĭuring a total solar eclipse, the moon is in just the right position to briefly cast a shadow on our planet. Solar eclipses happen only during a new moon, when the lunar orb moves between Earth and the sun. But once astronomers figured out how solar eclipses worked, they became events to be studied and celebrated. Through the ages, the sudden darkening of the sun has been seen as a signal of the displeasure of the gods or an omen of bad things to come. Debate even swirls around a line from Homer's Odyssey -"The sun has been obliterated from the sky"-and whether it can be tied to a historic eclipse.
Humans have recorded solar eclipses for millennia, and references to them can be found in some of humanity’s earliest texts, such as ancient Chinese academic documents.
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