The 8 types of eclipses (and how to recognize them)

Different ways to classify eclipses, these impressive phenomena of astronomy.

The stars and their movements have been since ancient times a source of wonder and veneration for humans, often associated with spirituality and religion. often associated with spirituality and religion. One of the celestial phenomena that have fascinated us the most because of their infrequent and impressive occurrences, and which have always held great symbolism, is that of eclipses.

Today we know how and why they occur, although they still retain a certain romantic mysticism. Eclipses continue and will continue to happen in the future, in all their forms.

And the fact is that there are different types of eclipses. In order to learn how to identify them, throughout this article we will make a brief review of the main types that we can see from our planet.

What is an eclipse?

It is understood as eclipse to the celestial phenomenon in which at least three stars participate, and in which one of them interposes and aligns with the other two in such a way that it hides one of them from the view from the other.

Its occurrence is due to the orbit of the planets around the stars, as well as the orbit of the satellites around the planets, due to the gravitational force of the gravitational field.due to the gravitational force.

A meaning in mythology

As we have seen above, the eclipse has been historically has historically been linked to the religious and spiritualThe reasons why the stars disappear from view or are partially hidden were not known.

For example, in Chinese mythology eclipses occurred when a celestial dragon, dogs or even a toad devoured the Sun or the Moon, while the Egyptians saw in this celestial phenomenon the combat between the diodes Horus and Seth (the loss of the star being the result of the latter tearing out an eye of the former, being later returned by Ra) or the sinking of Ra's boat by the serpent god Apep.

Kingdoms such as Siam or India also considered that the stars were devoured by gods or dragons. Also in the pre-Columbian civilizations they were feared, and sacrifices were often made to them.In pre-Columbian civilizations, too, they were feared, and sacrifices were often made to return the Sun or the Moon to its place. The beliefs were many: from the star being devoured to the effect of combats between deities. Also, the arrival of the Spanish in South America happened right after a solar eclipse, something that helped them to be initially taken for gods.

Types of eclipse

Although there are a large number of types of eclipses that can occur from any planet, those that affect us directly are of two types: solar and lunar. We can also find another type of eclipse, that of the planet Venus.

1. Solar eclipses

We call solar eclipse to that cosmic phenomenon in which the Moon is interposed between the Sun and the Earth, causing that the sun is not visible from our planet. They are usually the most spectacular and the most important for mankind. They should never be observed directlyThey should never be observed directly, since although the figure and the light of the Sun are not visible, the radiation can affect us equally. We can find different types of solar eclipses.

1.1. Total

Total solar eclipses are those in which the Moon completely blocks the light of the Sun, totally blocking its view from the Earth..

1.2. Partial

A partial solar eclipse occurs when only part of the Moon is aligned between the Earth and the Sun, resulting in a portion of the Sun being visible while a portion of the Sun is blocked by our satellite.

1.3. Annular

This type of solar eclipse occurs because although the Moon is interposed between the Earth and the Sun blocking the vision of the latter, its smaller size and the separation between the Moon and the Earth The solar disk is covered by the Moon, but a ring of sunlight is still visible around it.. The resulting vision would be the prototypical Moon with a ring or corona of light, as if the center of the Sun had turned black.

1.4. Hybrid

One of the rarest, the hybrid solar eclipse occurs when the alignment between the three celestial bodies makes that in different parts of the globe we can see a total eclipse while in others a partial one.

2. Lunar eclipses

Lunar eclipses occur when there is an alignment between the Sun, Earth and Moon, our planet is placed between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the passage of sunlight to our satellite.. There are three main types of lunar eclipses.

2.1. Total lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse occurs when our planet completely blocks the Sun's light from reaching the Moon. When it occurs, the Moon progressively darkens until it disappears completely in the cone of shadow cast by the Earth. Shortly thereafter, it gradually comes back into view.

2.2. Partial

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon is not obscured in its entirety by the Earth or the shadow cone cast by the Earth. or the cone of shadow cast by our planet does not cover its vision in its entirety.

2.3. Penumbral

In penumbral eclipses, the Moon is never covered by the cone of shadow that our planet casts when aligned between it and the Sun, although it does pass through the twilight zone. This means that although it remains visible, its color is darkened to a great extent..

2.4. Venusian eclipse: the transit of Venus

Although we do not usually consider it to be an eclipse, it is true that other stars can also intervene other stars can also interpose and align themselves between the Earth and the Sun.. This is what happens with the so-called transit of Venus, in which our neighboring planet is placed between the Sun and the Earth.

However, the great distance between the Earth and Venus compared to the Moon, in addition to the relatively small size of this planet compared to ours, makes this type of eclipse very little noticeable, just covering a small point of the Sun.

In addition, this type of eclipse is very rare, repeating in sequences: 105.5 years, then another at 8, then another at 121.5 years and then another 8, in a cycle of 243 years. The last one was in 2012, and the next one is expected to occur in 2117.