Editing Eclipse (section)

===Solar eclipse===
{{main|Solar eclipse}}
[[File:Total_Solar_Eclipse_-_April_8,_2024_-_Mazatlan_Mexico_-_Ten_Minute_Time_Lapse_v2_1080p.webm|thumb|Ten Minute [[Time-lapse photography|Time Lapse]] Video of the [[Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024|Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024]], in [[Mazatlán]], [[Mexico]].]]
[[Image:2008-08-01 Solar eclipse progression with timestamps.jpg|thumb|The progression of a [[solar eclipse]] on August 1, 2008, viewed from [[Novosibirsk, Russia]]. The time between shots is three minutes.|alt=|left]]
As observed from the Earth, a [[solar eclipse]] occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun. The type of solar eclipse event depends on the distance of the Moon from the Earth during the event. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Earth intersects the umbra portion of the Moon's shadow. When the umbra does not reach the surface of the Earth, the Sun is only partially occulted, resulting in an annular eclipse. Partial solar eclipses occur when the viewer is inside the penumbra.<ref>{{cite web
 |first       = R.
 |last        = Hipschman
 |title       = Solar Eclipse: Why Eclipses Happen
 |url         = http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/why.html
 |access-date  = 2008-12-01
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081205073238/http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/why.html
 |archive-date = 2008-12-05
|date        = 2015-10-29
 }}</ref>
[[File:Solar eclipse visualisation.svg|thumb|upright|Each icon shows the view from the centre of its black spot, representing the Moon (not to scale)]]
The [[Magnitude of eclipse|eclipse magnitude]] is the fraction of the Sun's diameter that is covered by the Moon. For a total eclipse, this value is always greater than or equal to one. In both annular and total eclipses, the eclipse magnitude is the ratio of the angular sizes of the Moon to the Sun.<ref>{{cite book 
|first=Martin V. |last=Zombeck |date=2006 
|title=Handbook of Space Astronomy and Astrophysics 
|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookspaceast00zomb_313 |url-access=limited |edition=Third |page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookspaceast00zomb_313/page/n61 48]
|publisher=Cambridge University Press 
|isbn=978-0-521-78242-5 }}</ref>

Solar eclipses are relatively brief events that can only be viewed in totality along a relatively narrow track. Under the most favorable circumstances, a total solar eclipse can last for 7&nbsp;minutes, 31&nbsp;seconds, and can be viewed along a track that is up to 250&nbsp;km wide. However, the region where a partial eclipse can be observed is much larger. The Moon's umbra will advance eastward at a rate of 1,700&nbsp;km/h, until it no longer intersects the Earth's surface.

[[File:Geometry of a Total Solar Eclipse.svg|thumb|300px|right|Geometry of a total solar eclipse (not to scale)]]

During a solar eclipse, the Moon can sometimes perfectly cover the Sun because its apparent size is nearly the same as the Sun's when viewed from the Earth. A total solar eclipse is in fact an [[occultation]] while an annular solar eclipse is a [[Astronomical transit|transit]].

When observed at points in space other than from the Earth's surface, the Sun can be eclipsed by bodies other than the Moon. Two examples include when the crew of [[Apollo 12]] observed the [[:File:Earth Eclipses Sun-ap12-s80-37406.jpg|Earth to eclipse the Sun]] in 1969 and when the ''[[Cassini–Huygens|Cassini]]'' [[Space probe|probe]] observed [[:File:Saturn eclipse.jpg|Saturn to eclipse the Sun]] in 2006.[[Image:Eclipse lune.jpg|thumb|250px|The progression of a [[lunar eclipse]] from right to left. Totality is shown with the first two images. These required a longer [[exposure time]] to make the details visible.|alt=|left]]