Fun Facts About the Solar Eclipse
From stopping wars to plasma patterns, get ready to be amazed by these incredible facts about the solar eclipse!
Basic Facts About the Solar Eclipse
A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the path of the Earth and the Sun.
This causes the Moon to block part or all of the Sun’s light.
(The Moon doesn’t really block the Sun; that is just how it looks from our perspective here on Earth.)
The Moon’s shadow falls on the Earth, darkening the ground below (in some cases, it gets as dark as night).
Since the Moon orbits the Earth around every 29 days, you would think solar eclipses would be more common.
Solar eclipses are rare because the Moon is typically not aligned with the Sun and Earth. Usually, the Moon travels slightly above or below that alignment.
Solar eclipses happen between 2 and 7 times a year. Not all occur over land or habitable areas, so most go unnoticed.
Now that you know some basic facts about the solar eclipse, let’s explore some fun facts!
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10 Fun Facts About the Solar Eclipse
These fun facts about the solar eclipse will amaze and enlighten you!
There Are Three Types of Solar Eclipses
Anytime the Moon blocks the Sun, you have a solar eclipse. There are three types:
Total Eclipse
The total eclipse is the quintessential solar eclipse. During this event, the Moon completely covers the Sun’s light, obscuring our view of the Sun.
Darkness covers the Earth in the eclipse’s direct path (called the totality).
Partial Eclipse
In a partial eclipse, the Moon only covers a part of the Sun. This makes the Sun look like it has had a bite taken out of it!
Annular Eclipse
In an annular eclipse, the Moon is too far from Earth to completely block the Sun (the Moon appears smaller).
The Moon passes in front of the Sun, but the edge of the Sun is visible. It looks like a ring of fire around the Moon.
A Solar Eclipse Is Brief
If you are fortunate enough to see a total eclipse, you will only have a brief time to experience the totality (when it looks like night in the day).
Totality lasts anywhere from a few seconds to 7 minutes. Usually, it lasts 2 to 3 minutes.
This short time is because the Moon is moving fast! It travels 1398 miles per hour in front of the Sun.
Animals Act Bizarrely During an Eclipse
Because a total eclipse mimics night during the day, animals act strangely due to this “sudden night.”
Honeybees will move in mass to return to their hives.
Nocturnal birds such as owls, frogs, and crickets wake up and start their calls.
Many animals will grow anxious and agitated with the unusual onset of daytime darkness. This is especially true for more intelligent animals.
They seem to understand that this is not a typical night. Many of these animals have even watched the sky during an eclipse.
Staring at Solar Eclipses Can Damage Your Eyes
The Sun contains UV (ultraviolet) rays. If you stare at the Sun (even during a partial eclipse), the UV rays will enter your eye and damage your cells.
This can lead to vision loss.
If you want to observe a solar eclipse, you must wear special glasses.
These glasses have lenses that separate out most of the light rays so you can see the eclipse without damaging your eyes.
The only exception to viewing an eclipse with your bare eyes is during totality.
When the Moon entirely blocks the Sun, there is nothing to see (except perhaps a faint glow around the edge of the Moon).
This won’t harm your eyes at all.
But be careful! When the Sun reemerges, even the tiniest sliver can damage your eyes and burn your retinas.
A Solar Eclipse Has Stopped a War
In the 6th century BC, the Medes fought the Lydians in Turkey.
According to the historian Herodotus, a solar eclipse happened during the fighting.
Seeing the eclipse as a sign from the gods, the soldiers dropped their weapons.
Both sides were so frightened by the eclipse that they made peace, ending a six-year war.
Eclipses Happen on Other Planets
Our planet is not the only one with a Moon that can block the light of the Sun.
Solar eclipses occur on other planets in our Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
These planets are gas giants, so even though an eclipse is happening, no one would be able to see it through the cloudy atmosphere.
Mercury and Venus don’t experience eclipses because they don’t have Moons.
Mars has two moons, but both are shaped like lumpy potatoes. Neither entirely blocks the Sun, so Mars experiences only partial eclipses.
Solar Eclipses Allow Us to See a Part of the Sun
It seems strange, but a solar eclipse lets us observe a part of the Sun we can’t usually see.
The corona is the outermost layer of a star’s atmosphere.
The Sun has a white corona which is impossible to see when the brightness of the Sun obscures it.
During a Solar eclipse, the white corona is visible around the edge of the Moon.
The plasma extends from the Sun in striking patterns.
A Solar Eclipse Only Occurs in a When the Moon is New or Full
A full moon is visible from the Earth when the entirety of the Moon’s front face is lit by the Sun. We see the Moon as a bright circle in the night sky.
A new moon occurs when the dark side of the Moon faces the Earth. The Moon is not visible to us in the night sky; it blends in with the darkness.
The new and full moon are opposite: one entirely light and the other altogether dark.
The Moon only comes in line with the Earth and Sun during a new and full moon.
The quarter moon and gibbous moon (which show a partially illuminated face) do not fall in the path needed for an eclipse.
You May See Baily’s Beads During a Solar Eclipse
Sometimes, in the seconds before a total eclipse, the Sun’s light will catch on the Moon’s craters and valleys, causing the light to dance and sparkle.
The patches of sunlight peeking through look like twinkling beads on the eclipse’s edge.
When one bead is left, it gives the effect of a shining diamond on the ring of the eclipse.
Eclipse Travelers Are “Umbraphiles”
Some people love eclipses so much that they plan their vacations around eclipse viewing.
These people are called “umbraphiles,” meaning “shadow lovers.”
Umbraphiles can get everything right with time and location, but they have one enemy: the weather.
Cloudy skies obscure an eclipse.
Read More About Eclipses
If you loved these fun facts about the solar eclipse, you will enjoy reading these books about the solar eclipse.
Total Solar Eclipse
This charming preschool and early elementary book explains the solar eclipse by making the Sun and Moon characters.
What Is a Solar Eclipse?
This book for upper elementary and middle school explains all about the solar eclipse.
Sun Moon Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses
This book for middle grades and up traces the history of solar eclipses in many cultures.
