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Wonderful eclipses
The size, shape and positions of the Earth, Moon and Sun bring us wonderful eclipses.
Guillermo Gonzalez considers how this happy state of affairs arose.
T
otal eclipses of the Sun have both In order to try to understand why total solar
he circumstances of total
T eclipses of the Sun by the Moon
are discussed. It is shown that total
inspired and frightened people since
ancient times. Even today, although no
mystery remains about them, total solar
eclipses on the Earth inspire such awe, we will
consider a few “what if?” questions. They are
motivated by the basic requirements for total
Angular coincidences
At the present epoch (today plus or minus a
few thousand years) the maximum difference
between the apparent sizes of the Moon and
the Sun (when the Moon is at perigee and the
1b: Colorized image of the 24 October 1995 total solar eclipse obtained through a small telescope. The
Earth is at aphelion) is about 3.7 arc minutes.
original was a high-resolution black and white photo. Also shown as a yellow disk is the properly scaled
solar disk (32′ 09″). The maximum (35′ 11″) and minimum (28′ 47″) sizes reached by the Moon in the According to the lunar orbital elements given
present epoch are indicated by the red markers. The angular diameter of the Moon during the eclipse was by Simon et al. (1994), the full range in the
32′ 54″. Original photo courtesy of Dr Jagdev Singh of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, India. Moon’s apparent angular size is 28′ 47″ to
60 35
34
32
20
31
3 Evolution of the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit for the next million 4 Evolution of the angular sizes of the Sun and Moon for the next several
years. The data were provided by Thomas Quinn and are based on Laskar hundred million years. The solid curves show the evolution of the
et al. (1992). apparent sizes of: 1) the Sun neglecting the eccentricity of the Earth’s
orbit, and 2) the Moon neglecting short-term variations in the eccentricity
and semi-major axis of its orbit. The dashed curve indicates the evolution
of the maximum apparent size of the Moon taking into account the short-
term variations. The short-dashed curve just below the solid solar curve
shows the evolution of the minimum apparent size of the Sun for a
minimum orbital eccentricity value; the lower one shows the minimum
apparent size for the maximum orbital eccentricity.
The combined effect of these long-term from their present state, might not permit the the configuration of the three bodies involved
trends is shown in figure 4. The mean apparent existence of complex life. We narrow our con- in producing total solar eclipses. In other
sizes of the Sun and Moon will be equivalent in sideration only to those three bodies involved words, it seems that nearly perfect solar
about 150 Myrs. However, we cannot say pre- in producing total solar eclipses on the Earth. eclipses are thrown in as a free prize for intel-
cisely when total eclipses will cease, because of First, strong arguments can be given for the ligent beings on a habitable world!
the short-term variations. If in the future short- necessity of a star similar to the Sun (see Gon-
term variations of the lunar orbit are as today, zalez 1999). This establishes the physical size Concluding remarks
then total eclipses will remain visible up to of the eclipsed body, and, with the addition of We are indeed living in a special time and place
300 Myrs in the future. Beyond that, total the concept of the circumstellar habitable zone, as far as the observability of nearly perfect
eclipses will be visible intermittently, when the the distance between the eclipsed body and the total solar eclipses is concerned. We will con-
eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit is large. How- other two is also set. tinue to experience such eclipses without inter-
ever, as we noted above, the Moon’s apparent Secondly, Laskar et al. (1993) have shown ruption for roughly another 250 Myrs. ●
size should be at least 30 arc seconds larger that the Moon keeps the Earth’s obliquity from
than that of the Sun to produce a “perfect varying over a large range, which would cause Guillermo Gonzalez is a postdoctoral research
eclipse.” This criterion reduces the visibility large climate fluctuations. For this mechanism astronomer at the University of Washington. He
time by about 50 Myrs. to be effective, the Moon’s mass must be a sig- studies the chemical abundance patterns of stars.
nificant fraction of the Earth’s mass.
Eclipses and life on Earth A glancing blow to the early Earth is the pre-
References
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eclipses? Recent work on habitability leads us ing the impact, the ejecta coalesce near the ter- Gonzalez G 1999 A&G submitted.
Laskar J et al. 1992 Icarus 95 148.
to answer this question in the affirmative. This restrial planet, so a large amount of orbital
Laskar J et al. 1993 Nature 361 615.
topic is usually discussed with the framework expansion over several Gyrs is necessary before Lissauer J L 1997 Nature 389 327.
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