March 2016 Total Solar Eclipse Path

Solar Eclipse Live Shot Roll-ins Canned interview with Dr. Michelle Thaller Dr. Michelle Thaller short social media promo Canned interview with Dr. Alex Young NASA scientists discuss the March 8/9, 2016 total solar eclipse. A Moment in the Sun’s Atmosphere: NASA’s Science During the March 2016 Total Solar EclipseEye Safety During a Total Solar EclipseMore on Twitter @NASASunEarthShare your eclipse pictures For More InformationSee [nasa.gov/sunearth](nasa.gov/sunearth) Related pages

The umbral and penumbral shadow cones travel across the surface of the Earth during the March 9, 2016 total solar eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's shadow falls on the Earth. The shadow comprises two concentric cones called the umbra and the penumbra. Within the smaller, central umbra, the Sun is completely blocked by the Moon, and anyone inside the umbra sees a total eclipse. Within the larger penumbra, the Sun is only partially blocked.In this animation, the umbra and penumbra cones are viewed through a telescopic lens on a virtual camera located far behind the Moon. Long focal lengths like the one used here appear to compress the distance between near and far objects. Despite appearances, the geometry of the scene is correct. The Earth is roughly 104 lunar diameters beyond the Moon, and the angle at the apex of the umbral cone is only about half a degree.From this point of view directly behind the Moon, the edges of the shadow cones look circular. The edge of the penumbra is outlined in yellow. It passes over Southeast Asia, Australia, and southern China before crossing the Pacific Ocean and reaching Hawaii. The path of the umbra (the small black dot) leads through Indonesia and over the tiny Woleai atoll in Micronesia. Related pages

The Moon orbits the Earth in the months prior to the March 9, 2016 (March 8 in the Americas) total solar eclipse. Viewed from above, the Moon's shadow appears to cross the Earth every month, but a side view reveals the five-degree tilt of the Moon's orbit. Its shadow only hits the Earth when the line of nodes, the fulcrum of its orbital tilt, is pointed toward the Sun. In this oblique view, the umbra component of the Moon's shadow barely reaches the Earth as it traces a path across the Pacific Ocean. Solar eclipses can only occur at New Moon, when the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun. But not every New Moon produces an eclipse. The Moon's orbit is slightly tilted, and as seen in this animation, the tilt causes the Moon's shadow to miss the Earth during most New Moons—about five out of six, in fact.As the Earth-Moon system orbits the Sun throughout the year, the Moon's orbital tilt changes direction relative to the Sun. Sometimes the up side of the orbit is facing the Sun, and sometimes the down side. Twice a year, for about a month, what's facing the Sun is the line dividing the up and down sides. This is the line of nodes, the intersection of the Earth-Moon plane and the ecliptic or Earth-Sun plane. A solar eclipse can only occur at a New Moon that falls within one of these month-long eclipse seasons. That's when the Moon is close enough to the ecliptic to actually come between the Earth and the Sun.In this animation, the olive-colored square represents the ecliptic plane, while the light blue circle shows the plane of the Moon's orbit. The darker half of the lunar orbit plane is below (south of) the ecliptic, and the dividing line between light and dark is the line of nodes.The radial grid on the lunar orbit plane is stationary relative to the stars. It appears to rotate because our point of view is fixed to the Earth-Sun line; we're following the Earth as it orbits the Sun. At first glance, the line of nodes appears to be tracking with the grid, but in reality it's slowly turning westward (clockwise), completing a full revolution in 18.6 years.Unlike most illustrations of this kind, the Earth and the Moon are to scale. The Sun is off-screen to the left, about 400 times farther than the Earth-Moon distance and roughly twice as big as the Moon's orbit. Related pages

The Moon moves right to left in its orbit around the Earth. The shadow it casts hits the Earth during the March 9, 2016 total solar eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, casting its shadow on the Earth. The shadow comprises two concentric cones called the umbra and the penumbra. Observers on the Earth who are within the smaller, central umbra see the Sun completely blocked. Within the larger penumbra, the Sun is only partially blocked.In this animation, the Earth, Moon, Sun, and shadow cones are viewed through a telescopic lens on a virtual camera located far behind the Earth. Long focal lengths like the one used here appear to compress the distance between near and far objects. Despite appearances, the geometry of the scene is correct. The Moon's umbra cone is roughly 30 Earth diameters long, barely enough to reach the Earth, while the Sun is almost 400 times farther away.From this perspective, we see the night sides of both the Earth and the Moon. Solar eclipses can only occur during New Moon, when the entire Earth-facing side of the Moon is experiencing nighttime darkness. Related pages