Total Eclipse

Where does the sun go in a total eclipse?

An eclipse of the sun occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, thus blocking from view either the whole of the sun or part of it.

A total eclipse begins when the moon starts to move across the western side of the sun travelling towards the east.  When the sun is completely covered, the beautiful halo of light surrounding it, called the corona, can be seen. This is the ring of burning gases which envelopes the main body of the sun. It is dangerous to look directly at an eclipse, since the sun’s rays can burn the eyes badly.

Since the moon is far smaller than the earth it cannot block all of the earth from the sun at the same time. The moon as it sweeps across the surface of the earth blots out the sun rays only for those parts of the world in the moon’s shadow.

The longest a total eclipse can last in one place on earth is seven and a half minutes. The last total eclipse of the sun occurred on June 30, 1973 and July 11, 1991.