These Are All the Different Types of Eclipses

No one in human history has ever seen an eclipse quite like the one seen by the crew of Apollo 12 on Nov. 21, 1969. Countless billions of us have seen the moon eclipse the sun, casting its shadow on the Earth; countless billions have seen the Earth similarly block solar light, casting a shadow on the moon. But the Earth eclipsing the sun, as viewed from far off in deep space? That’s a different matter—but it’s precisely what the astronauts bore witness to when they were on their way back to Earth after having stuck history’s second crewed lunar landing, in the moon’s Ocean of Storms, two days earlier. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “We’re getting a spectacular view,” radioed command module pilot Richard Gordon as the sun appeared to vanish behind the Earth. “It’s unbelievable.” “Fantastic sight,” added lunar module pilot Al Bean. “The sun is almost completely eclipsed now and what it’s done is illuminated the entire atmosphere all the way around the Earth.” “Looks quite a bit different than when you see the moon eclipse the sun,” added Gordon. It will be a long while before humans witness the same spectacle again—sometime in the future when astronauts travel moonward again. But no one has to wait terribly long to see another, equally stunning cosmic spectacle. On April 8 the moon will pass in front of the sun creating a total solar eclip...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Eclipse healthscienceclimate Source Type: news