IT is a rare occurrence, the moon passing directly in front of the sun, and visible over an entire continent. In bygone years, an eclipse of the sun was treated as a message of the gods and plays a part in many ancient legends.
In bygone years, eclipses were treated as a message of the gods and such events play a part in many ancient legends.
It is theorised (and based on our investigation of the moon’s composition and what we understand about the universe) that in the early solar system there were any number of planets formed from the accretion disk that circled the sun. One of these planets was the proto-Earth and another, named Thea, slammed into it obliquely.
Both planets had heavier elements at their cores, and these “fell” into the centre of the infant Earth while the lighter elements on both planet surfaces formed a secondary accretion disk that orbited Earth. After several millions of years, these coalesced into our moon.
The moon was formed much closer to the Earth than it is today, and the wildly spinning Earth was slowed down due to the gravitational braking of the moon. It finally settled down to the speed it rotates today (24 hours). The moon also steadied the wobble (precession) and created the seasons and its gravity is responsible for our tides.
Initially, the moon would have appeared three times larger than it does today, As the moon spirals slowly further away from Earth it will appear smaller in the sky to Earthly observers in the future. How strange is it that, at a time in our history when we are able to understand and describe (some of) the mechanics of our solar system, that the moon covers the entire face of the sun during an eclipse?
This total eclipse has allowed scientists to study the sun’s atmosphere in a unique way.
The next total solar eclipse that will be visible in South Africa will be on December 14 2020, so get your dark glasses ready.
