Solar Eclipses - Past, Present, and Future.
Eclipse Mythology
Chinese, Hindu, Egyptian, Impact on modern day
science and religion.
Mechanics of Solar Eclipses
Why eclipses occur.
Types of Eclipse.
Phases of an eclipse.
Shadows
Bailys Beads.
Diamond Ring.
Temperature
Corona.
Prominences.
Solar Eclipses - Past, Present, and Future.
Safely Viewing Eclipses
Eclipse, March 29, 2006 a guide.
Using computer simulations
Eclipse from Ireland.
Eclipse from Turkey.
Eclipse from Space
Future Eclipses
Important Eclipses present – 2030
The 'almost' total eclipse of 2015 from Ireland.
"Nothing there is beyond hope, nothing that can be sworn impossible,
nothing wonderful, since Zeus, father of the Olympians,
made night from mid-day, hiding the light of the shining Sun,
and sore fear came upon men." Archilochus (c.710 - 676 BC)
Eclipse Lore and Mythology
Our ancestors saw eclipses as evil omens, often as portents
of some catastrophic event or a sign from their deities.
The earliest recorded eclipse was in China on
October 22, 2134 BC. The two court astrologers to the
Emporer lost their heads because, they had failed to predict it
The Babylonians were the first to calculate the regular
intervals at which eclipses occur.
Thales of Miletus predicted a solar eclipse that marked
the beginning of the Greek scientific/philosophic era.
Eclipse Lore and Mythology
Word eclipse comes from a Greek word, “ekleipsis”
meaning abandonment.
There is a story that suggests Christopher Columbus used his
Knowledge of an upcoming lunar eclipse to great effect.
People of ancient China were convinced that eclipses
Occurred because a great dragon (or toad, or dog) was
Devouring the Sun.
They made load noises, banged implements etc to scare
Away the dragon.
As total eclipses can only last a maximum of 7 ½ minutes
There raucous behaviour always had the desired effect.
Although a total eclipse refers to a specific event, the events leading
Up to ‘totality’ and following it also hold much interest.
Partial Phase
Shadows
Bailys Beads
Diamond Ring
Totality
During the partial phase there are many interesting things to note.
First Contact.
Eclipse increasing in magnitude.
Temperature.
Increasing Darkness
Shadow Bands
Crescent Shadows
Creatures settling believing night is imminent
Moons shadow racing from the west(ish).
Bailys Beads
Diamond Ring
The moment when the western limb of the Moon contacts the
Eastern limb of the Sun.
First contact is not directly
Visible, however very shortly
Afterwards a little ‘bite’ is
Taken from the Sun.
As the eclipse increases in magnitude, the amount of warming
Sunlight reaching us falls.
As the eclipse reaches 70-80% you will begin to feel a noticeable
Coolness as if night were coming.
With the decrease in the area of Sun presented to us
Ambient light levels fall.
Most noticeable in the latter stages of the eclipse.
Video from west Africa showing this dramatically.
Caused by distortions in the Earth’s atmosphere and the partially
Eclipsed Sun.
Best seen on a pale coloured
Wall or concrete pavement.
Note shadows cast by irregularly shaped objects such as leaves
From trees.
“A hybrid eclipse is a unique type of central eclipse where parts
of the path are annular while other parts are total.
This duality comes about when the vertex of the Moon's umbral
shadow pierces Earth's surface at some points, but falls short
of the planet along other portions of the eclipse path.
The curvature of Earth's surface brings some geographic locations
along the path into the umbra while other positions are more distant
and enter the antumbral rather than umbral shadow.”
Directly looking at the Sun,
even for a short time,
CAN PERMANENTLY
DAMAGE YOU EYESIGHT
Approved solar filter material
Should be used to cover your
Equipment and your eyes
AT ALL TIMES.
You should choose sunglasses that:
reduce glare
filter out 99-100% of UV rays
protect your eyes
are comfortable to wear
do not distort colors.
.
We will use computer simulations to look at this
Eclipse from different vantage points
Animations created with Starry Night Pro Plus
Software.
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