Eclipse: Quick Facts

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Photos and Videos

Diagram showing a lunar eclipse with the Sun on the left, Earth in the center casting a shadow, and the Moon passing through Earth's umbra (total shadow) and penumbra (partial shadow).

Diagram showing the stages of a total and partial solar eclipse, with the Moon moving across the Sun. Each phase is illustrated step-by-step, from first contact through maximum coverage to last contact.

Map of North America showing the path of totality for the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse. The path, marked with a dark band and labeled Path of Totality, stretches from Mexico through the central United States into eastern Canada. Surrounding shaded bands indicate decreasing percentages of eclipse coverage, from 90% near the path of totality to 10% at the map edges, with percentage labels in yellow. Major cities, state, and country boundaries are visible

Diagram showing a solar eclipse, with the Sun, Moon, and Earth aligned. The Moon casts a dark umbra shadow on Earth for a total eclipse and a lighter penumbra for a partial eclipse.

annular eclipse

comparison of the size of the sun at sunset, Joshua Tree National Monument (left), with the moonrise over Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (right).

Solar and Lunar Eclipses, Explained

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Learn why there is not a solar eclipse every month

Five facts about solar eclipses

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Topics

total eclipse annular eclipse inex period eclipse year eclipse season contact partial eclipse totality The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses Lunar eclipse gravity space-time Expanding universe Olbers’ paradox Cosmological constant Star Sun Galaxy Cosmology Solar system

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Nature worship: Eclipses of the sun and moon

Key People

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al-Kāshī

Persian astronomer and mathematician

Anaxagoras

Anaxagoras

Greek philosopher

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Georg von Peuerbach

Austrian mathematician

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

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Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy