

The distance to the Moon is smallest in the spot facing the Moon directly. Distance to the Moon Depends on the Location If you move towards the Moon from that spot, you enter the umbra and see a total solar eclipse if you move away from the Moon, you enter antumbral territory, so the Moon begins to appear smaller than the Sun, creating an annular eclipse. The location where the umbra transitions into the antumbra marks the spot where, if you look at the Sun and the Moon, the apparent sizes of both celestial bodies are exactly equal. Together, both shadows look a bit like an hourglass, if viewed from the side (see illustration). This part of the shadow increases in diameter as we move away from the Moon. Where the umbra ends, at the tip of the V, the antumbra starts. The diameter of the umbra decreases with growing distance from the Moon. Hybrid solar eclipses happen when the Earth travels through the area where the Moon's umbra meets its antumbra.īecause the Moon is smaller than the Sun, both its umbra and its antumbra are V-shaped. The Moon's umbra and antumbra, surrounded by the penumbra. Hybrid solar eclipses involve all three areas of the Moon's shadow and combine all three types of solar eclipses. During this type of eclipse, the Moon looks a little smaller than the Sun, so the edge of the Sun's disk remains visible around the Moon. The antumbra, a half-shadow that begins where the umbra ends, results in annular solar eclipses.Here, the Moon obscures only a part of the Sun's disk. The penumbra, the lighter outer part of the shadow, creates partial solar eclipses.The Moon's umbra, the shadow's dark central portion, causes total solar eclipses, where the Moon appears a little larger than the Sun and covers it completely.The type of eclipse we see depends on the part of the Moon's shadow we are in: The shadow consists of three areas: an umbra, a penumbra, and an antumbra. The last hybrid eclipse was the Ningaloo Eclipse on April 20, 2023.Ī hybrid eclipse is a type of solar eclipse that looks like an annular solar eclipse or a total solar eclipse, depending on the observer's location along the central eclipse path.ĭuring a hybrid solar eclipse, the Earth's curvature brings some sections of the eclipse path into the Moon's umbra, the darkest part of its shadow that creates total solar eclipses, while other areas remain outside the umbra's reach, causing an annular eclipse.Īstronomical terms & definitions Three Shadows, Three Eclipse TypesĪ solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's shadow falls on Earth. Business Date to Date (exclude holidays).
