Residents of North America are awaiting the solar eclipse today, Monday, since the sky is expected to darken over vast areas of the northern continent for a short period as the moon completely covers the sun.
According to the Institute of Astronomical and Geophysical Research, the solar eclipse from its beginning to its end takes approximately 5 hours and 10 minutes. At the peak of the total eclipse, the lunar disk covers about 105.7% of the entire disk of the sun. The total eclipse covers an area 197.5 km wide and will take a period of 4 minutes and 28 seconds, according to astronomical calculations.
The institute also indicated that a total eclipse is one of the types of solar eclipses and usually occurs when the moon, during its monthly cycle around the Earth, is in the new phase at the end of the lunar month.
The institute, in a statement on its official Facebook page, explained that just before the new crescent appears, the Moon aligns between the Earth and the Sun along the conjunction line or nearby. Moreover, at this point, when the Moon is also near one of its ascending or descending nodes, the distance between the Moon and Earth varies between 405,000 kilometers and 363,000 kilometers. This distance change leads to the Moon appearing large enough to completely cover the Sun’s disk, resulting in a total eclipse.
Benefits of solar eclipse:
The phenomenon of eclipse has useful aspects, since it is useful in confirming the beginning of the Hijri (lunar) months, as the eclipse occurs in the position of approaching or meeting, and the solar eclipse indicates the nearness of the birth of the new crescent.
It is considered the birth date of the new moon. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the twenty-first century (between the years 2001-2100) will witness 224 solar eclipses, including 77 partial eclipses, 72 annular eclipses, 68 complete eclipses, and 7 mixed eclipses.
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