Total solar eclipse sweeps across Europe

• Parts of Europe experienced a total solar eclipse on August 12. 

• With the Sun’s bright disc covered, its surrounding atmosphere – the solar corona – became visible.

• The Sun’s corona is the outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere. The corona is usually hidden by the bright light of the Sun's surface. 

• The total eclipse lasted less than two minutes to the delight of thousands of people observing the phenomenon using special spectacles for safety.

• It was the first total eclipse to be seen from mainland Europe in two decades. 

• Aside from casual observers, the event also drew “eclipse chasers”, enthusiasts who crisscross the globe to be in the path of totality whenever an eclipse occurs.

What is solar eclipse?

• Solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, the Moon, and Earth line up, either fully or partially. Depending on how they align, eclipses provide a unique, exciting view of either the Sun or the Moon.

• A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth that either fully or partially blocks the Sun’s light in some areas. This only happens occasionally, because the Moon doesn’t orbit in the exact same plane as the Sun and Earth do.

• Eclipses have driven numerous scientific discoveries. For over a century, solar eclipses helped scientists decipher the Sun’s structure and explosive events, find evidence for the theory of general relativity, discover a new element, and much more. 

Types of solar eclipses

There are four types of solar eclipses: total, partial, hybrid, and annular. The type of eclipse that people get to see depends on how the Moon aligns with Earth and the Sun, and how far away the Moon is from Earth.

i) Total Solar Eclipse: A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. People located in the center of the Moon’s shadow when it hits Earth will experience a total eclipse. The sky will darken, as if it were dawn or dusk. 

ii) Partial Solar Eclipse: A partial solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth but the Sun, Moon, and Earth are not perfectly lined up. Only a part of the Sun will appear to be covered, giving it a crescent shape. 

iii) Annular Solar Eclipse: An annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, but when it is at or near its farthest point from Earth. Because the Moon is farther away from Earth, it appears smaller than the Sun and does not completely cover the Sun. As a result, the Moon appears as a dark disk on top of a larger, bright disk, creating what looks like a ring around the Moon. 

iv) Hybrid Solar Eclipse: Because Earth’s surface is curved, sometimes an eclipse can shift between annular and total as the Moon’s shadow moves across the globe. This is called a hybrid solar eclipse.