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All About Solar Eclipses History is riddled with fables and stories pertaining to the awe-inspiring phenomenon known as a solar eclipse. The ancient Chinese once believed that a giant dragon had swooped down and swallowed the sun, which in retaliation they fired arrows toward the sky, and banged on drums hoping to scare the dragon away. A few centuries later mankind finally discovered the true nature of these spectacular astronomical events, which dispelled any rationalization of it being a supernatural event.

-Moon Shadows-

To fully understand the nature of an eclipse we first must consider the significance of Moon shadows. Each night, there is visible evidence of the phases of the moon, which is why we have cycling, such as the full Moon and the new Moon. Historically, these changes were used to develop the first understanding of time, which later led to the concept of the calendar.

The Moon shadow is made of two parts. The faint outer shell of the shadow is called the Penumbra, and accounts for the more common partial eclipse. Once the penumbra is cast upon the earth, we may still be able to see the partial outline of the sun, which is so bright that without protective filters or using a pinhole projector, it may be harmful to our eyesight.

The second part of the Moon's shadow is the Umbra. This darker inner circle is the only place where a total solar eclipse may become visible. The full umbra basically overshadows the sun, which results are clearly evident here on Earth.

-Solar Eclipse Explained-

So, what is a solar eclipse, and is there any truth to the urban legends surrounding the event? Basically, a solar eclipse is when the sun and the moon align and come into a perfect alignment, which the moon passes between the sun and the earth. During this brief event, the sun almost disappears completely behind the shroud of the moon. The results of this near-biblical event, literally turns day into night, temperatures plunge, and even animals are slightly confused by the effects of this phenomenon.

Now, this is where science and astronomy kicks in. The celestial cycle, also defined as Celestial Mechanics, also explains how we can actually predict a solar eclipse. Since the moon takes approximately twenty-nine and a half days to complete its orbit around the Earth, each cycle during the new Moon phase, the Moon has to pass between the Sun and the Earth. Now, if you take a look at the solar system from the side, you can actually see that the Sun and Moon rarely are

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