How To Watch Sunday's Rare Hybrid Solar Eclipse [View all]

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http://www.businessinsider.com/hybrid-solar-eclipse-november-2013-2013-11


The moon's shadow has two parts: The inner-shadow is known as the umbra and the outer-shadow is known as the penumbra. When the moon's penumbral shadow hits Earth, we see a partial eclipse of the sun. If the moon's umbral shadow, then a total eclipse is visible.

On Sunday, Nov. 3, an annular solar eclipse that changes into a total solar eclipse — called a hybrid eclipse — will be visible on the eastern coast in North America to parts of Africa and the Middle East.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun. When the three line up just right, a portion or all of the sun's light gets blocked by the moon's shadow striking Earth at the same time.

During a total solar eclipse, the moon's dark inner shadow — known as the umbral shadow — strikes Earth's surface and blocks out all of the sun's light in that region. But not all eclipses of the sun are total eclipses. The moon's orbit around Earth also influences what kind of eclipse we see.

In an annular solar eclipse, the moon crosses the sun at its farthest distance from Earth, meaning that from our perspective, the moon isn't big enough to cover the sun completely. "Looking down from space, we would see that the Moon's umbral shadow is not long enough to reach Earth," writes Fed Espenak of MrEclipse.com.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/hybrid-solar-eclipse-november-2013-2013-11#ixzz2jUWSWhHK