The Amazing Triangle: The Mesmerizing Tale of Solar Eclipses

Solar eclipses are one of the wonderful and amazing phenomena of nature that have fascinated people since time immemorial to the present day. A solar eclipse is a process in which the moon comes between the sun and the earth. A solar eclipse can be of several types including a total solar eclipse in which the moon completely covers the sun. An object to cover another object must be equal, but are the moon and the sun equal to each other? Today this topic will be discussed in detail and we will know some interesting facts.

First let's give some information about moon and sun. Moon is a satellite of earth and moon is 4 times smaller than our earth. If we imagine the moon as a round object, its diameter will be about 3480 km. And the diameter of the earth is about 12,742 km. On the other hand, Earth is a planet of the Sun. Sun's diameter is 13,92,680 km. Earth is 109 times smaller than Sun. So the moon is about 400 times smaller than the sun. The Sun is much bigger than the earth that 1.3 million worlds can easily fit inside a sun. Think about how many moons can fit inside a sun! But how can a moon too small for a solar eclipse cover a huge sun? We will see this matter now.

To help understand this, let's look at an illustration of a boring theorem taught in school. We may have read these theorems but did not get that fun because we did not compare them with real life. Now if we compare the whole thing it will be clear as crystal. According to Figure 1 below we read and proved that AB/BD = AC/CE; BC and DE are parallel; angle ABC = angle ADE, angle ACB = angle AED. That is, if BC is the Moon and DE is the Sun, these measures can be applicable between them. But in Figure 2 let's say the Moon BC moves away from the Earth and comes closer to the Sun, then a total solar eclipse is not possible. In Figure 3, the Moon BC would appear much larger than the Sun if it were closer to the Earth.

Now notice in figure 4, if A is your eye and BC is the moon then DE is the sun. AM is the distance from the Earth to the Moon and AN is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. If the distance BC from the Earth to the Moon or the distance DE from the Sun is not perfect, then it is not possible to see a total solar eclipse. Which is clear from the above image. Since the ratio of the distance in this case is perfect, the value obtained by dividing the Moon BC by the distance of the Moon AM, the value obtained by dividing the Sun DE by the distance of the Sun AN should be almost equal.

We will similarly measure the distance of the Moon and the Sun and divide by the value of their diameters. Diameter of moon BC= 3480 km. And the mean distance of Earth from Moon is AM = 384,400 km. On the other hand the diameter of sun is DE = 1,392,680 km. And the average distance from Earth to Sun is AN = 150,000,000 km. Because the Earth is not perfectly round or oval, and the orbits of the Earth, Moon, and Sun are not perfectly round, their distances are more or less within a range or region. So in order to see a total solar eclipse, the distance from one to the other must be perfect.

The minimum distance of the Moon from the Earth is 356,352.93 km which is called Perigee and the maximum distance is 406,719.97 km which is known as Apogee. Similarly the minimum distance from Earth to Sun is 147 000 000 km which is called Perihelion and the maximum distance is 152 000 000 km which is called Aphelion. Now we take two points within this range which coincide exactly like that triangle and get a total solar eclipse. For example, the distance of the moon is 3,79,320 km and its diameter divided by 3480 gives 109. On the other hand, distance from Sun is 15,18,02,120 km and its diameter divided by 13,92,680 gives 109. The matter is not strange!

This means that the Earth, Moon and Sun are located within or at a distance within a region where this phenomenon occurs. For this many coincidences have to happen here. Firstly, the Earth must be at such a distance from the Sun and the Moon must be at such a distance between the Earth and the Sun that the distance and aspect ratio of the Moon and the Sun are equal. Again, for the seasons to change, the Earth and its orbit can't even be perfectly round, but must stay within a perfect range. That means many coincidences have happened here.

Let's highlight these things below:

1. Firstly, The Earth must be at a distance from the Sun secondly, the Moon must be at a distance from the Earth thirdly, the Moon must be at a distance from the Sun to obtain a perfect total solar eclipse.

2. The ratio of the size of the moon to the size of the sun must be perfect. Interestingly, the Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon and is exactly 400 times farther away!

3. Dividing the distance of the Moon from the Earth by the diameter of the Moon and dividing the distance from the Sun from the Earth by the diameter of the Sun gives approximately the same value. According to Figure 4 AM/BC = 102 to 116 values are found, AN/DE = 105 to 109 values are found.

4. The Earth must be elliptical and orbit in an elliptical path for certain limits or regions of the distance between the Moon and the Sun from the Earth. If the earth were perfectly round and its orbit perfectly round or circular, the seasons would not change. If the seasons do not change, the existence of life would be threatened.

In conclusion, the solar eclipse is a wonderful phenomenon that has fascinated humanity for millennia. So, the next time you hear about a solar eclipse, don't miss out on this cosmic sight. For scientific curiosity or sheer wonder, solar eclipses remind us of the vastness of the universe and the delicate balance that governs our planet. As we remember these events, they not only deepen our thinking about the cosmos but serve as a powerful balance of beauty and existence in our world.

Sources:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/total-solar-eclipse.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_distance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_orbit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse
https://www.britannica.com/video/185399/size-solar-system-objects