Solar Eclipse

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The partial solar eclipse or Surya Grahan on October 25 marks the last solar eclipse of the year. The eclipse will be visible from parts of Europe, Northern Africa and large parts of western and central Asia. Most of India was able to view the solar eclipse, apart from some parts in the Northeast.

Solar Eclipse

• During a solar eclipse, the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, stopping some of the Sun’s light from reaching our planet.
• Typically, there are three kinds of solar eclipses—

• Total solar eclipse: During a total eclipse, the Moon will completely cover the Sun.
• Annular eclipse: During an annular solar eclipse, the Moon will not fully cover the Sun but will leave an edge visible.
• Partial solar eclipse: During a partial solar eclipse the Sun will be partly covered by the Moon as it passes in front of it.

The type of eclipse we experience depends on the type of shadow that is involved.

• Both the Moon and Earth cast 3 shadows: umbra, penumbra, and an antumbra.

• The umbra is a shadow’s dark core: It means If you are standing within the umbra, you will not be able to see any part of the light source as the object blocks all direct light rays.
• The penumbra is a half-shadow that occurs when a light source is only partly covered by an object
• Antumbra: the lighter part of the shadow that begins where the umbra ends.