What Causes Solar Eclipse

Solar eclipse happens when a new Moon comes in between the Sun and the Earth, as a result of which, the Sun gets hidden behind the Moon, either partially or fully. However, this does not happen every time the new Moon crosses between the Sun and the Earth. It is possible, only if the Sun and Moon are in conjunction, that is, both of them should appear to us, as if they are placed near one another in the sky.

Types of Solar Eclipse
We can differentiate the solar eclipses into four different types. The causes of solar eclipse have been explained in relation to its types:

Total Solar eclipse: In case of a total solar eclipse, the entire shadow of the Moon covers the bright Sun completely. The size of the Moon looks as big as the Sun. For those few precious moments, only the faint halo of the Sun can be viewed. It is considered as a very rare event because in this kind of eclipse, the totality exists in only a small region of the Earth, marked by the Moon's shadow or umbra. Watching a total solar eclipse can be a very thrilling experience, because the Sun becomes invisible during the daytime and total darkness sets in within minutes.

Annular Solar Eclipse: This eclipse is caused when the Sun and the Moon are positioned in one straight line. During this eclipse, the Moon appears much smaller in size as compared to the Sun. As a result, a bright ring of the Sun encircling the dark Moon is visible to us.

A hybrid Solar eclipse: This kind of solar eclipse is also a very rare event, because it undergoes a transition between a total and an annular eclipse. Therefore, this eclipse can be seen as a total solar eclipse in some regions of the earth, whereas in other parts, it is seen as an annular one.

A partial Solar Eclipse: During this eclipse, the Sun and the Moon do not come in the same straight line. In this eclipse, the Moon partly covers the Sun, so it is visible from a large portion of the earth. Usually, it can be seen even from those regions which fall outside the path of total or partial solar eclipse. However, sometimes, partial eclipses cannot be seen if the umbra does not intersect with the Earth's surface.

The phenomena of a total solar eclipse is an exceptional event. At any specific region, such an event would repeat itself only once in 370 years, on an average. The duration of a total eclipse is really very short. Totality of an eclipse cannot last for more than 7 minutes, 31 seconds. This is because the moon's umbra is moving rapidly at a speed above 1700 kilometers per hour. In a millennium, there are not even 10 total solar eclipses that continued beyond 7 minutes. The total eclipse that happened on June 30, 1973, was the last one that occurred for 7 minutes, 3 seconds. Such an eclipse, with a duration of more than 7 minutes will happen again on June 25, 2150.

In the history of the Earth, the longest duration of a solar eclipse is going to happen on July 16, 2186, that would last for 7 minutes, 29 seconds. One of the longest durations of solar eclipse of this century, can be witnessed by us very shortly. It will take place on July 22, 2009 and its time period will be 6 minutes, 39 seconds.