Today featured one of the most spectacular of all celestial phenomenon: a solar eclipse. Granted, this was not an eclipse of the total variety, but it was cool in that people lucky enough to live in the eclipse's path will be treated to a crescent Sun.
Unfortunately, the eclipse wasn't be visible in Cleveland, or anywhere else where a lot of people lived as maximum solar coverage was actually over Antarctica. .
Like a lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse is all about the perfect alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth in that order. Unfortunately, though, that perfect alignment is extremely rare as the Moon does not orbit the Earth on a flat plane, but at a slight angle. However, there are rare times when the Moon reaches a node and puts itself, the Sun, and Earth on the ecliptic plane. This is what happened today, but not perfectly, which would have resulted in a total eclipse. Still, the alignment is close enough to allow a partial eclipse.
For those lucky enough to be in the direct path of the Sun's shadow, the Sun became a crescent as the Moon moved in front of the Sun, blocking the solar disc as it goes. Still, even though the Sun was partially blocked, for anyone watching in person, protective glasses would still be a must!
Now, how about solar eclipses in the Cleveland area? The next partial will occur on October 23, 2014 and will cover, along with Ohio, most of North America. On August 21, 2017, there is total solar eclipse within driving distancefrom here. However, if travel isn't your thing, you'll have to wait for April 8, 2024 to see one pass directly overhead. The good news is that there are special travel packages offered just for the purpose of eclipse chasing.
Either way, make it a point in life to see a total solar eclipse: it's something that you'll never forget!
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