What is a solar eclipse?
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Answer:
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun. Due to a remarkable coincidence, the apparent size of the moon of the sky is almost exactly the same as the apparent size of the sun, and from our point of view here on Earth, it seems to gradually "cover" the sun.
its when the moon covers the sun.I'm not sure cuz i always mix up lunar and solar eclipses
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun and obscures it totally or partially. This configuration can only occur at New Moon, when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction, as seen from Earth.
If you think about it, you may wonder, if its simply a matter of the moon being in front of the sun, why solar eclipses are so rare. You would think that, since it takes the moon one month to revolve around teh earth, that some point in that month, there would be a solar eclipse when the moon is in a position in lign with the sun.
The reason its rare is that the plane of the earth and sun's orbit are at angles, and so when the moon is aligned with the earth, most of the time is above the sun or below it, and only on those special occasions does the moon travel in direct path of the sun.
Just additional info, was something I wondered until it was answered in science class.
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