BELIEF DESCRIPTION ABOUT THE LUNAR AND SOLAR ECLIPSES:
The moon inside the umbral shadow is a subtle red, but hard to see in contrast to the much brighter moon in the outer penumbral shadow.
Also The solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 occurs fourteen days later, in the same eclipse season. It will be the first total solar eclipse visible in the contiguous United States since the solar eclipse of February 26, 1979.
Solar and Lunar Eclipses in 2017
The eclipses in 2017 don't include great lunar eclipses, with a deep penumbral event on February 11th and "A partial eclipse on August 7th".
But the solar offerings are much better, with an annular observable from the Southern Hemisphere on February 26th and the Big One — a total solar eclipse crosses the continental U.S. — on August 21st.
Any list of nature's grandest spectacles would certainly include eclipses of the Sun and Moon. Up to seven of them can take place in one year, though the last time that happened was 1982. The fewest possible is four, as will be the case in for eclipses in 2017. Neither of the lunar eclipses is total (though we'll have two of those in 2018). But both of 2017's solar eclipses are "central" events: one annular and one total.
Why Do Eclipses Happen?
A solar eclipse, such as the one pictured, occurs only at new Moon, when the lunar disk passes directly between us and the Sun. Conversely, a lunar eclipse takes place during full Moon, when our satellite passes through Earth's shadow.
These alignments don't happen at every new and full Moon because the lunar orbit is tipped about 5° to Earth's orbital plane — only occasionally do the Sun, Earth, and Moon line up exactly enough for an eclipse to occur. (The technical name for that, by the way, is syzygy.)
Three types of lunar eclipse are possible (total, partial, and penumbral) depending on how deeply the full Moon plunges into or near the umbra, our planet's dark, central shadow.
If it goes all the way in, we see a total lunar eclipse that's preceded and followed by partial phases. That was the case during the widely viewed event in September 2015, which marked the conclusion of a series of four consecutive total lunar eclipses in 2014–15! Such eclipse tetrads are not common — the last one occurred during 2003–04, but the next won't begin until 2032.
Partial lunar eclipse, eclipses in 2017 won't include great lunar eclipses.
If the Moon skims part way into the umbra, only the partial phases occur. And if its disk passes just outside the umbra, it still encounters the weak penumbral shadow cast by Earth. Both of these geometries will be in play during 2017's two lunar eclipses.
Fortunately, every lunar eclipse is observable anywhere on Earth where the Moon is above the horizon. (But there's still an element of luck involved — after all, the sky has to be clear!)
However, solar eclipses more tightly restrict where you can see them because the Moon casts a smaller shadow than Earth does. If the Moon completely hides the Sun, the eclipse is considered total. With its brilliant disk completely covered, the Sun's ghostly white outer atmosphere is momentarily revealed for durations from seconds to several minutes. In November 2013, for example, planeloads of eclipse-chasers converged in a remote portion of northern Kenya to watch just 11 seconds of totality.
Why eclipses occur
Eclipses of the Sun or Moon can only occur when the Moon crosses the plane of Earth's
Eclipses of the Sun or Moon can only occur when the Moon crosses the plane of Earth's
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