WASHINGTON — In a little over a week, several states across the country will experience a total solar eclipse. An eclipse happens when a planet or a moon gets in the way of the sun’s light.
According to NASA, we experience two kinds of eclipses on Earth: solar eclipses and lunar eclipses. A lunar eclipse is when Earth passes between the sun and the moon, causing Earth to cast a shadow on the moon.
On April 8, we will experience a total solar eclipse, that is when the moon passes between the sun and Earth causing the moon to cast a shadow on Earth. A solar eclipse can only happen during a New Moon.
According to the National Weather Service, there are four types of solar eclipses: partial, total, annular, and hybrid, each more rare than the last.
A partial eclipse is the most common, during these events the sun is never fully covered.
During an annular solar eclipse, the moon is further away from Earth, so it looks smaller. This prevents the moon from covering the sun in its entirety like it will during the Total solar eclipse.
Hybrid solar eclipses, the rarest of the three, are a combination of a total and annular eclipse. This form of eclipse is due to the Earth’s curvature, allowing it to bounce between the two along different points of the eclipse path. The last hybrid eclipse was on April 20, 2023. The next one will be on November 14, 2031.
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