What Causes A Solar Eclipse Yahoo Answers

The moon orbits the earth in a wobbly fashion for lack of a better word.

What causes a solar eclipse yahoo answers.

Usually there is never a solar eclipse if the moon were exactly lined up wed have one every month. The problem is that some people don t know when to quit and the novelty of the eclipse causes them to stare at it for so long it causes retinal damage. No comets or asteroids are large enough to eclipse the sun. The sight of solar eclipse is astonishing and hard to be missed but people should take extra precautions as the sun rays could lead to serious complications in the eyes.

There s nothing about the sun s rays that change during a solar eclipse it s actually okay to glance at it briefly. There are three kinds of solar eclipses. In a solar eclipse the moon passes between earth and the sun and stops some or all of the sun s light from reaching earth. Watching the sun for a few seconds could cause solar poisoning that leads to permanent damages in the sight and in simple cases could affect the eye s ability to recognise colour.

In a total solar eclipse the moon completely covers the sun. In a partial solar eclipse the sun is partly covered when the moon passes in front of it. The total or annular eclipse begins when the moon s umbra starts to sweep across the earth s surface. Also some people s retinas are more susceptible to damage than most but.

Mercury and venus can transit the face of the sun but they are very much smaller than the sun so don t eclipse it. I ve seen a full solar eclipse and it s really quite remarkable. The recent solar eclipse of january 26 2009 was an annular eclipse see below while the solar eclipse of july 22 2009 was a total solar eclipse. Of the moon on the earth is very tiny.

No planets can cause a solar eclipse. General phases of a solar eclipse the general eclipse begins when the moon s penumbra cone starts to sweep across the earth s surface. A solar eclipse does not cause blindness. A solar eclipse is actually a misnomer.

In ancient times and in some cultures today solar eclipses have been attributed to supernatural causes.