Solar EclipseSolar EclipseA solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, casting a shadow over part of the planet. Since the moon is 400 times closer to the Earth than the sun, but the sun is 400 times bigger than the moon, they appear to be the same size. Therefore, if the moon's orbit takes it directly across the sun and you are standing in the middle of the moon's shadow on Earth, you will see a total eclipse of the sun.
A solar eclipse can only occur during a period called an eclipse limit. This is a 37 day window when the Earth's solar orbit approaches and crosses the lunar orbit. This occurs once every 173 days. One total or two partial eclipses can happen during each eclipse limit. Mayan astronomers included eclipse limits in their calendars as early as 1100 A.D.
In ancient times, there were many myths surrounding solar eclipses. In ancient Greece, a solar eclipse stopped a five-year war. In 585 B.C., two Asia Minor superpowers were fighting when the moon blocked out the sun. They took that as a sign to make peace, so they stopped fighting. The Chippewa Indians of North America thought that the sun's flames went out during a solar eclipse, so they fired flaming arrows into the sky to re-ignite it. The Tahitians thought that the sun and the moon were lovers and whenever they got together, they produced an eclipse.
I think that solar eclipses are very interesting. I can hardly wait for the solar eclipse of 1998!