Eclipses

When the Earth, Moon, and Sun line up in space, we can see an eclipse. NASA studies eclipses from the ground, in our atmosphere, and in space, influencing solar, planetary, and Earth science.

A purple Moon with a bright white, wispy solar atmosphere billowing out around it. It fills the red and purple background.

About Eclipses

An eclipse is an awe-inspiring celestial event that drastically changes the appearance of the two biggest objects we see in our sky: our Sun and Moon. On Earth, people can experience solar and lunar eclipses when Earth, the Moon, and the Sun line up. Safety is the number one priority when viewing a solar eclipse. Be sure to follow these safety guidelines when viewing a solar eclipse.

Quick Facts

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Against a black background, the total solar eclipse. It is a black circle surrounded by white, wispy streams of light that flow away from the black circle in every direction.

Eye Safety During an Eclipse

Observing our star, the Sun, can be safe and inspirational.

Except for a specific and brief period of time during a total solar eclipse, you must never look directly at the Sun without proper eye protection, such as safe solar viewing glasses (eclipse glasses). Eclipse glasses are NOT the same as regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses are not safe for viewing the Sun. During a total solar eclipse, you must wear your eclipse glasses (or use other solar filters) to view the Sun directly during the partial eclipse phase. You can only take your glasses off during the short time when the Moon completely obscures the Sun – known as the period of totality. If you don’t have eclipse glasses, you can use an indirect viewing method, such as a pinhole projector, which projects an image of the Sun onto a nearby surface.

It is safe to look at the Moon with unprotected eyes or through a telescope during all types and during all stages of a lunar eclipse.

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A family wearing eclipse glasses watches the total solar eclipse
A family wearing eclipse glasses watches the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017.
NASA/Shannon Reed

Citizen Science Projects

Observing a solar eclipse is one of many ways to get in on the fun of doing science.

You can get involved with NASA science by participating in a number of NASA-funded citizen science projects. Citizen science projects are collaborations between scientists and interested members of the public. Through these collaborations, volunteers (known as citizen scientists) have helped make thousands of important scientific discoveries.

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A burst of orange material flows out from the Sun, against a dark red background. The image is overlayed on a graph, labed Solar Y and Solar X. The image is also labeled as SDO-AIA 2011-Jan-20/
A closeup of a solar jet on the Sun captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory on Jan. 20, 2011. Participants in NASA’s Citizen Science program Solar Jet Hunter help identify solar jets in spacecraft images for further study.
NASA/SDO/Solar Jet Hunter

Know your eclipses!

There are four types of solar eclipses: Total, partial, hybrid, and annular.

The type of eclipse that people get to see depends on how the Moon aligns with Earth and the Sun, and how far away the Moon is from Earth. There are three types of lunar eclipses: total, partial, and penumbral. At least two partial lunar eclipses happen every year, but total lunar eclipses are rare. Unlike a solar eclipse, it is always safe to look at a lunar eclipse with the naked eye.

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From left to right, this image shows a total solar eclipse, annular solar eclipse, and partial solar eclipse. A hybrid eclipse can appear as either a total or annular eclipse (the left and middle images) depending on the viewer's location.
From left to right, this image shows a total solar eclipse, annular solar eclipse, and partial solar eclipse. A hybrid eclipse can appear as either a total or annular eclipse (the left and middle images) depending on the viewer's location.

Science of Eclipses

Eclipses aren’t just beautiful – they’re great for science.

In addition to inspiring artists and musicians, eclipses have driven numerous scientific discoveries. For over a century, solar eclipses helped scientists decipher the Sun’s structure and explosive events, find evidence for the theory of general relativity, discover a new element, and much more. NASA scientists still study eclipses to make new discoveries about the Sun, Earth, and our space environment. Total solar eclipses are particularly important because they allow scientists to see a part of the Sun’s atmosphere – known as the corona – which is too faint to see except when the bright light of the Sun’s surface is blocked.

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A burst of solar material blooms out in the solar atmosphere, shown in dark red and yellow. The Sun is blocked by a dark red circle, revealing this atmosphere.
NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO, constantly observes the outer regions of the Sun’s corona using a coronagraph, which blocks the bright solar disk. 
ESA/NASA/SOHO

History of the Eclipse

Eclipses have fascinated humans from the beginning.

Throughout time, humans have had different interpretations of and reactions to these striking celestial events. In fact, historical records of eclipses from scribes in Anyang, China, helped astronomers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to determine how Earth’s rotation has changed over time. Determining exactly when the eclipse was seen and where the Moon's shadow fell on Earth helped the scientists calculate the rate of Earth's spin. The eclipses they used for this research were in 1226 B.C.E., 1198 B.C.E., 1172 B.C.E., 1163 B.C.E., and 1161 B.C.E. ​

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This composite image shows the progression of a partial solar eclipse over Ross Lake, in Northern Cascades National Park, Washington, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
This composite image shows the progression of a partial solar eclipse over Ross Lake, in Northern Cascades National Park, Washington, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
NASA/Bill Ingalls
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