FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 38 YEARS, the entire continental United States will have the opportunity to see the sun disappear for a few minutes - in some places, completely - behind the moon. It's called a solar eclipse, and it's something that's pretty rare around here. WHAT MAKES THE AUGUST ECLIPSE SPECIAL? It's a Total Eclipse, which blocks out the sun more completely than a more common annular eclipse. Such a thing hasn't been viewable from American soil in 38 YEARS! WHY DO SOLAR ECLIPSES HAPPEN? Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes in front of the Sun, blocking out its light. While the moon is only a minuscule fraction of the size of the Sun, the Sun is 94 million miles away from us, and this allows the moon to block out the Sun's rays across a small fraction of the Earth's surface. You might be wondering why solar eclipses are so rare. This is due to two factors. First, the moon must be in the "new moon" phase, which means it is between the Earth and the Sun. Because of this, we see the "dark side of the moon," and the moon appears invisible. But with new moon phases happening every 29.5 days or so, why aren't eclipses happening just as frequently? You can thank the tilt of the moon's orbit with respect to Earth for that. Everyone in the continental U.S. will see at least a partial eclipse. In fact, if you have clear skies on eclipse day, the Moon will cover at least 48 percent of the Sun's surface. And that's from the northern tip of Maine. Visit NASA Website here: https://www.nasa.gov/content/eye-safety-during-a-total-solar-eclipse for directions on when to use your Solar Eclipse Glasses!!!
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