Eclipse

Pluto, with its large moon Charon, is also the site of many eclipses. Old figurines have been used to discount some historical theories, such as the origins of chess. It is common to see the larger moons casting circular shadows upon Jupiter's cloudtops. allowing limbs to be posed) have also been developed, but these are more likely to be called dolls or action figures (or robots or automata if they can move on their own). The most striking involve Jupiter, which has four large moons, and which has a low axial tilt, making eclipses more frequent. Figures with movable parts (e.g. The gas giants, which have many moons, frequently display eclipses. Recently, the terms inaction figures (originally used to describe Kevin Smith's View Askew figurines) and staction figures (a portmanteau of static and action figures coined by Four Horsemen artists to describe Masters of the Universe figures) have been used to refer to figurines of comic book characters or sci-fi/fantasy characters without movable parts.

See Transit of Phobos from Mars and Shadow of Phobos on Mars. Players of tabletop role playing games often use miniatures to represent their characters' position and facing on a map. Martian eclipses have been photographed from both the surface of Mars and from orbit. A more recent adaptation is the use of figurines in board games, such as chess. On Mars, only partial eclipses are possible, because neither of its moons is large enough to cover the Sun's disc. Some may have been worn as jewelry. Eclipses are impossible on Mercury and Venus, which have no moons. They may also have been meant to amuse, that is, children in particular (a crying infant for example).

(see also: omen). They probably had religious or ceremonial significance, and been used in marriage and other rituals. Traditionally, eclipses were said to have a malefic influence, that supposedly being a more negative and ominous influence rather than a positive one. We cannot know for certain how they were used. In the field of astrology an eclipse is said to activate the exact degree of the ecliptic that the eclipse falls upon, in one of the 12 astrological signs. If the earlier finds are genuine, they are one of the first signs of human culture. In other cultures an eclipse could be both a surprising and a terrifying event. Many more have been found that date to 25-30,000 BC in Europe, and are the oldest ceramic known.

In this explanation we see a recognition of the celestial realities and a cheerful outlook regarding the event. The two oldest so far are made of stone, were found in Africa and Asia, and are several hundred thousand years old. Similarly in China, at the Imperial observatory, Beijing is a carved stone brought from a distant province with the following explanation (here rewritten):. The earliest figurines are often of pregnant women, and are called Venus figurines, in reference to their presumed representation of a female goddess, or in any case some connection to fertility. No wonder many indians believe that eclipses are inauspicious and can cause damage or bad luck to human beings, apart from the well known damage that can be caused to the retina of the eye when a solar eclipse is viewed directly. The earliest figurines were made of stone; more recent creations are also made of ceramic, metal, wood, plastic, etc. For example, in Hindu mythology, the two demons Rahuand Ketu, are believed to be the cause of eclipses. They are typically smaller than life-size, and may be realistic or iconic depending on the skill and intention of the creator.

These would typically involve conflicts between mythic forces. Figurine is a diminutive form of the word figure, and generally refers to a small human-made statue that represents a human (or deity or animal). Before modern astronomy arose there were long-standing explanations for eclipses in many cultures. There are three types of lunar eclipses: penumbral, when the Moon crosses only the Earth's penumbra; partial, when the Moon crosses partially into the Earth's umbra; and total, when the Moon crosses entirely within the Earth's umbra. These were used in occult ceremonies.

These eclipses can be divided into different types:. The most dramatic eclipses visible from Earth are:. They repeat according to eclipse cycles. There can be from four to seven eclipses in a calendar year.

The Sun passes either node once a year, and eclipses occur in a period of about two draconic months around these times. Because the plane of the orbit of the Moon is tilted with respect to the plane of the orbit of the Earth (the ecliptic), eclipses occur only when the three bodies are near the intersection (the node) of these planes. An eclipse involving the Sun, Earth and Moon can only occur when they are in a line. .

An eclipse is a type of syzygy, as are transits and occultations. A solar eclipse is actually a misnomer; the phenomenon is actually an occultation. However, it can also refer to such events beyond the Earth-Moon system: for example, a planet moving into the shadow cast by one of its moons, a moon passing into the shadow cast by its parent planet, or a moon passing into the shadow of another moon. The term is most often used to describe either a solar eclipse, when the Moon's shadow crosses Earth's surface, or a lunar eclipse, when the Moon moves into the shadow of Earth.

An eclipse (Greek verb: ecleipo, "to cease existing" or calypse, "to cover" ) is an astronomical event that occurs when one celestial object moves into the shadow of another. Lastly, fourth contact (also called second exterior contact) is the instant when the Moon clears the Earth's umbra completely. This is the end of totality. Third contact (also called second interior contact) is the instant when the Moon starts to come out of the Earth's umbra.

The maximum of the eclipse occurs when the angular distance between the centre of the Moon's disc and the centre of the shadow cone is at its smallest value. This is the beginning of totality. Second contact (also called first interior contact) is the instant when the Moon enters completely into the Earth's umbra. First contact (also called first exterior contact) is the instant when the Moon starts to enter into the Earth's umbra.

Lastly, fourth contact (also called second exterior contact) is the instant when the Moon's disc clears the Sun's. Third contact (also called second interior contact) is the instant when the Moon's disc starts to come out of the Sun's (for an annular eclipse) or the instant when the Sun's disc reappears from behind the Moon's (for a total eclipse). Second contact (also called first interior contact) is the instant when the Moon's disc is entirely surrounded by the Sun's (for an annular eclipse) or the instant when the Sun's disc disappears completely behind the Moon's (for a total eclipse). First contact (also called first exterior contact) is the instant when the Moon's disc starts to cover the Sun's.

The general eclipse ends when the Moon's penumbra finishes its sweep across the Earth's disc. The total or annular eclipse ends when the Moon's shadow finishes its sweep across the Earth's disc. The centrality ends when the axis of the Moon's shadow finishes its sweep across the Earth's disc. The eclipse's maximum occurs when the terrestrial surface within the umbra reaches its largest area.

The centrality begins when the axis of the Moon's shadow cone starts to sweep across the Earth's disc. The total or annular eclipse begins when the Moon's umbra starts to sweep across the Earth's disc. The general eclipse begins when the Moon's penumbra cone starts to sweep across the Earth's disc. Hybrid solar eclipses, which consists of three phases: the eclipse starts as an annular one, then turns into a total and by the end it returns to the annular phase.

Annular eclipses are ideal times for observing solar prominences. It is pure coincidence that the Moon and Sun have nearly equal apparent sizes, making annular eclipses possible. For solar eclipses, the viewer is in the antumbra part of the Moon's shadow. Annular eclipse, which are a total eclipse of luminary where a thin ring of light is visible around the intervening object.

For solar eclipses, the viewer is in the penumbra part of the Moon's shadow. Partial eclipses, in which only part of the luminary is covered (solar eclipses), or when only part of a body is eclipsed by the shadow (lunar eclipses). For total solar eclipses, the viewer is in the umbra part of the Moon's shadow. Total eclipses, in which the light source is totally blocked off by the eclipsing body.

This can only happen at new moon. The Moon casts a shadow that touches the surface of the Earth. Solar eclipses - the Moon occults the Sun, from the Earth's point of view. This can only happen at full moon.

The Moon moves through the shadow cast by the Earth. Lunar eclipses - the Earth obscures the Sun, from the Moon's point of view.