Probably everyone in life has ever heard or even seen such a phenomenon as a solar eclipse. And did you ask yourself the question, where does it come from, what are the reasons for its occurrence, in general, what is this phenomenon of nature?
From ancient times, solar and lunar eclipses, like other rare astronomical phenomena, such as the appearance of comets, were perceived as negative events. People were very afraid of eclipses, since they occur rarely and are unusual and frightening phenomena of nature. In many cultures, eclipses were seen as harbingers of misfortunes and catastrophes (especially in the case of lunar eclipses, apparently because of the red color of the shaded Moon associated with the blood). In mythology, eclipses were associated with the struggle of higher forces, one of which wants to break the established order in the world (“extinguish” or “eat” the Sun, “kill” or “pour blood” on the Moon), and the other – to preserve it. The beliefs of some peoples demanded complete silence and inaction during eclipses, others, on the contrary, active witchcraft to help “the bright forces”.
Saros (the cycle, whose length is 6585.3 days, or 18 years, 11 days and just under 8 hours) was known to astronomers of ancient Egypt and Babylon. Thanks to Saros, ancient astronomers accurately predicted eclipses, without having a clear idea of the celestial mechanics, nor computing devices. Indeed, in order to predict the date and time of the eclipse, it is sufficient to have a list of the last occuring eclipses and add to the date and time of each of them an integer number of Sarosses. The prediction of lunar eclipses in general is not difficult. With solar eclipses everything is somewhat more complicated, since it is necessary to take into account that when the eclipse is repeated through Saros its strip will pass in another place, and be able to calculate this place. To facilitate the calculation of solar eclipses, ancient scientists used the triple Saros – period equal to 19755,
The predictions of the Saros eclipses give acceptable accuracy within plus or minus 300 years, at more remote times, failures begin, caused by the accumulation of errors.
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We all know the only living planet is Earth which like any other planet revolves around the Sun. And like any other planet, it also has its own satellite which is the Moon. The relationship between the Sun, Earth and Moon yields into the two phenomenons of nature, Solar eclipse and Lunar eclipse. Before we proceed any further, you should understand that what is eclipse? An eclipse is the shadowing of any celestial body due to any other celestial body. It is a temporary obscuration which occurs due to constant movement of astronomical bodies.
Let’s talk about Lunar Eclipse. Lunar eclipse occurs when the moon enters the cone of the shadow cast by the earth. The diameter of the Earth’s shadow spot at a distance of 363,000 km (the minimum distance of the Moon from the Earth) is about 2.5 times the diameter of the Moon, so the Moon can be shaded entirely. And for the solar eclipse, during new moon, the moon casts its shadow on sun by coming in between the Sun and the Earth.
When the shadow of the Earth falls on the moon, and it disappears from the horizon. The Earth rotates around the Sun, and the Moon revolves around the Earth. Both these processes occur simultaneously. If for a few minutes the Moon, the Earth and the Sun are on the same line, the eclipse begins. A total solar eclipse is a very rare and dramatic event. During a total solar eclipse, one gets the impression that some huge monster loses the Sun after the piece. When the Sun disappears, the sky becomes dark and the stars are visible in the sky.
