Anjani Ganase discusses the phenomenon of a total solar eclipse
On April 8, parts of the US, Canada, and Mexico will experience a total solar eclipse. A total solar eclipse happens when the moon lines up with the sun and blocks most of the sun’s light to the area of Earth directly in its path.
While the full process of the eclipse takes hours for the lineup of the moon and the sun, the total blackout of the sun lasts only a few minutes, during which time the sky turns to twilight and in some cases the temperature drops.
The last time I experienced a total solar eclipse, I was on a boat on the northern Great Barrier Reef off Lizard Island.
The light dipped so much that we were able to see the stars around the sun. The atmosphere was eerie, and it felt as if nature was also silent in observation.
We wondered about the impact on the ocean life and the behaviors in nature around us.
The movements of the sun and the moon govern most processes on planet Earth. The sun determines seasons, weather, and is the main source of energy provided to us directly or through the process of photosynthesis.
The moon serves as a big clock in the sky by which seasonal and reproductive cycles are timed. The phases of the moon are felt through changes in tides and currents of the ocean.
On occasion, however, the earth, sun, and moon line up to create an eclipse event. Eclipses are not that rare – typically two to five solar eclipses a year – but the chance of another eclipse in the same location is extremely low.
Since the time of the Babylonians, eclipse events have been tracked and today through science and precise tools, eclipses can be predicted down to the second for the next hundred years.
[caption id="attachment_1074964" align="alignnone" width="1024"] On April 8, parts of the US, Canada, and Mexico will experience a total solar eclipse. A total solar eclipse happens when the moon lines up with the sun and blocks most of the sun’s light to the area of Earth directly in its path.[/caption]
Eclipses follow a Saros Series, which is a predictable pattern between lunar and solar eclipses. In a Saros Series, nine years, 5.5 days after a lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse will occur.
Then, 18 years, 11 days, and eight hours after a solar eclipse, the sun, moon, and earth will realign in a similar way, but shift 120 degrees westward.
There is a narrow band on earth – only 50 miles wide – that will experience any total eclipse. Beyond that band, partial eclipses are observed.
Lunar eclipses occur during a full moon when the earth lines up between the sun and the moon. This results in the earth casting its shadow on the moon.
During a total lunar eclipse, the moon turns red because of the refracted long red wavelengths that pass through the earth’s atmosphere and reflect off the moon.
As a result, lunar eclipses are called blood moons. During such a lunar eclipse, the light from the moon is much lower than a typical full-moon night.
As lunar cycles are important for many ecological processes, changes in the mo
