🌒 Space Glossary

Eclipses

The words behind solar and lunar eclipses: the shadows that make them, the moments that time them, the cycle that repeats them and the sights that only totality reveals. 15 terms, each explained in plain language with key data and links to live trackers.

Annular Eclipse The ring-of-fire eclipse, when the Moon looks too small 6 Feb 202726 Jan 2028 Antumbra The shadow beyond the umbra's tip: an annular eclipse An annular eclipse6 Feb 2027 Baily's Beads Points of sunlight through valleys on the Moon's edge Seconds1836 Blood Moon The red Moon of a total lunar eclipse 31 Dec 20281 h 12 min Diamond Ring The last flash of sunlight before totality At C2 and C3Back on at C3 Eclipse Contact Times C1 to C4: the four moments that time an eclipse C1 to C2C2 to C3 Eclipse Magnitude How much of the Sun is covered, by width and by area Share of widthShare of area Hybrid Eclipse The rare eclipse that is annular in places, total in others About 1 in 2014 Nov 2031 Path of Totality The narrow track where a solar eclipse is total 100 to 300 kmOver 1,700 km/h Penumbra The pale outer shadow that gives a partial eclipse Partial eclipseBarely visible Penumbral Eclipse The faint lunar eclipse most people never notice About 1 in 3Three Saros The 18-year rhythm that repeats every eclipse 6,585.3 daysSaros 136 Solar Corona The Sun's outer atmosphere, seen only in totality Over a million degreesA millionth Totality The minutes when the Sun or Moon is fully covered About 7.5 minUp to 6 min 23 s Umbra The dark core of a shadow, where totality happens TotalityUp to ~300 km wide

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