Eclipses are anomalies and very interesting.there is a lot to know about them from the different types to the history of how they were predicted.
There are two types of eclipses,lunar and solar- A lunar eclipse occurs when earth moves between the moon and the sun.this movement blocks the sun's light rays from hitting the moon.This only happens when the Sun, the Earth and the Moon are aligned closely with the Earth in the middle casting a shadow on the moon.
An umbral lunar eclipse is when the whole moon is not covered with earth's shadow only a fraction of it is.
A total lunar eclipse is when the entire moon is covered with earth's shadow causing a “blood moon”.the last blood moon was on Jan 20-21- 2019 where it coincided with the supermoon and the Full wolf Moon making it a super blood wolf moon.
Other than the lunar eclipse there are also solar eclipses.this is where instead of the earth coming between the sun and the moon,the moon comes between the earth and the sun.the moon then casts a shadow on the sun,this can happen during the day as well and seems suddenly dark to us in the middle if the day.
A total solar eclipse is when the moon covers the entire sun,a partial solar eclipse is when only a chunk of the sun looks covered and the annular solar eclipse is similar to the partial eclipse but is harmful to our eyes.
Solar eclipses can also be dangerous to our naked eyes if the sun comes from out behind the moon and catches us by surprise.our eyes are then exposed which can damage parts of them.
Eclipses occur approximately four times per year. Sometimes there can be six to seven eclipses per year as well but four are more common.solar eclipses are more rare and occur every 12 to 18 months on average.
Ancient astronomers figured out how to predict an eclipse.The mesopotamians were the first ones to figure out the pattern of eclipses and the intervals between them due to their habit of taking note of phenomenon and other things they found to be important.
Currently NASA has predicted and plotted out the future eclipses for the about next 1000 years and 4000 years before this.
The mesopotamians came up with something known as the “Saros Cycle”.this was a cycle that showed us the interval between each solar eclipse in lunar months.
Some fun facts about eclipses:
-the longest lasting solar eclipse lasted for about 7.5 minutes
-Almost identical eclipses occur after 18 years and 11 days. This period of 223 synodic months is called a saros.
-If any planets are in the sky at the time of a total solar eclipse, they can be seen as points of light.