Archive for April, 2011

Regions Of Earth’s Shadow – The Antumbra Eclipse

The antumbra eclipse, which is known as the annular eclipse, occurs when the Earth passes into the Moon’s shadow. It is one of the four types of eclipse: partial, annular, total and hybrid. In this kind of eclipse, the Moon is surrounded by a circle of light as the Moon does not completely cover the Sun. We are at an interesting point in time for eclipses.

In the past, the Moon was closer to the Earth than it is now which caused many more full eclipses. Many people are unaware the Moon is Read the rest of this entry »

The Umbra Eclipse: In The Shadow Of The Moon

The word umbra is Latin for shadow. The term describes the part of a shadow that is completely dark. In terms of a solar eclipse, when the umbra portion of the moon’s shadow passes between the sun and the earth it can completely obstruct the view of the sun creating a total eclipse. A total solar eclipse is usually a short lived event and because it covers less than 1 of the Earth’s surface, it can only be seen in relatively small areas.

Throughout history solar eclipses have been seen as omens or the result of angry gods. Read the rest of this entry »