Are there Solar eclipses in other planets?

I was looking the news about last Solar eclipse, It was amazing!

I'm wandering what about in the rest of the planets in our Solar System?

Does anybody knows something about it?

Thank's
Frami

There are eclipses in other Solar Systems! All that is required for a solar eclipse is a star, and some object, such as a moon, nearby planet etc. which is large enough to block out the star which your planet orbits.

Every planet that has a moon has some form of solar eclipse. All it takes is for the moon to pass through the ecliptic plane of the solar system, and some point on the planet will have that moon's shadow on it.

To see an eclipse as we are lucky enough to see here on earth ( total eclipse ) depends on the relationship between the size and distance of the " Moon " to , & from the sun in relationship to the planet the " Moon " is orbiting .

Eclipses such as we see here on earth are a rather rare thing .

[edit on 17-1-2010 by Max_TO]

[edit on 17-1-2010 by Max_TO]

Here is Jupiter during a triple eclipse:
antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov...

This shows whats going on very clearly:
antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov...

Originally posted by Max_TO
To see an eclipse as we are lucky enough to see here on earth ( total eclipse ) depends on the relationship between the size and distance of the " Moon " to , & from the sun in relationship to the planet the " Moon " is orbiting .

Eclipses such as we see here on earth are a rather rare thing .

I was gonna say. How the hell does our moon just happen to cover the sun so perfectly?

That is nothing short of amazing!

reply to post by impaired


This has always baffled me also. For the moon to be just the right distance away so as to perfectly cover the sun... I can't find any explanation other than co-incidence.

Raises the question that perhaps the moon is artificial? a giant alien base disguised as a rock?

Although I have also heard that every year the moon moves something like a foot away from the earth, so if thats true then in a few thousand years a solar eclipse may not look so perfect anymore.

That is if there is anyone still around in a few thousand years to see it

reply to post by frami12


We are the only planet we know of that can have a total eclipse.However other planets in the solar system can have the moon pass in front of the sun its just not nearly as dramatic.

Explanation: All eclipses etc are known in Astronomy jargon as a Transit [answers.com] and more specifically as a Solar Transit [wiki] and ultimately as aSolar Eclipse [wiki].

From [wiki] Source....
"Final totality
Solar eclipses are an extreme rarity within the universe at large. They are seen on Earth because of a fortuitous combination of circumstances. Even on Earth, eclipses of the type familiar to people today are a temporary (on a geological time scale) phenomenon. Many millions of years in the past, the Moon was too close to the Earth to precisely occlude the Sun as it does during eclipses today; and many millions of years in the future, it will be too far away to do so.

Due to tidal acceleration, the orbit of the Moon around the Earth becomes approximately 3.8 cm more distant each year. It is estimated that in 600 million years, the distance from the Earth to the Moon will have increased by 23,500 km, meaning that it will no longer be able to completely cover the Sun's disk. This will be true even when the Moon is at perigee, and the Earth at aphelion.[19]

A complicating factor is that the Sun will increase in size over this timescale. This makes it even more unlikely that the Moon will be able to cause a total eclipse. Therefore the last total solar eclipse on Earth will occur in slightly less than 600 million years."

Personal Disclosure: Since Eclipses are so rare and planet earth actually gets to see several during our lifetimes, don't you feel special and lucky to be alive to be able watch them!? I sure do!

reply to post by dainoyfb



Whooooaaaaa!!!
Thank you Dainoy, It's amazing!!

Frami

reply to post by OmegaLogos


Thank's Omega!
Do you think that is there a purpose on Earth to have eclipses?
What could happen if not eclipses?

Frami

reply to post by frami12


It sure has lead to some great literature

Solar eclipses are just a way that GOD uses to reset the planet.

Nothing is by co-incidence or accident that is how it is, or who ever placed it there in perfect position for us to see Solar eclipses.

reply to post by jsettica


A 'perfect' solar eclipse is entirely relative to where you are when you see it.

There are 'perfect' eclipses on other planets with moons, you just have to be within the umbra (direct shadow of the moon) for it to block out the sun.

To be under the belief that our planet is somehow privaleged because we can have a total eclipse on occasion is failure to recognize the same for just about every planet with a moon.

Here is a Viking 1 Orbiter photo of Phobos' shadow moving across Mars. On the ground, this would be seen as a total solar eclipse.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/4d8ecb3c7075.jpg[/atsimg]

A solar eclipse happens on the Moon every time there is a lunar eclipse.

A lunar eclipse is when is the Earth casts a shadow on the Moon. From the viewpoint of the Moon from places inside that shadow, the Earth is causing a total solar eclipse.

If you were on Jupiter's moon Europa, Jupiter would totally eclipse the Sun every time you went "behind" Jupiter.

[edit on 1/18/2010 by Box of Rain]

I actually made a thread to do with the huge coincidence involving the sizes and distances of the moon and sun as seen from earth a while back.

here it is:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

We are so very lucky, not only to be on this planet but to living on it now as the moon is moving slowly away and total solar eclipses will not happen forever on this planet.

I can imagine a time in the future when alien tourists will visit our lovely little pale blue dot to see this very phenomenon!

Originally posted by Nomad451
reply to post by impaired

 

This has always baffled me also. For the moon to be just the right distance away so as to perfectly cover the sun... I can't find any explanation other than co-incidence.

except that an eclipse isnt making the whole earth dark, just a small circle shaped region on the earth-

Eclipses are localized things. if you can see an eclipse in North Carolina, you cant see the same one at the same time in California, unless the moons trajectory is in the exact right position, and even then it will be some time later in the day.


------------I dont know what Im talking about with this section---------

Look at the moon. the moon has phases, like full moon and crecent moon. obviously a crescent moon is when the earth is partially blocking sunlight. also, when the moon is fully dark, the earth is totally blocking all the sunlight. --this happens about once every 25 days.

that, by definition, is an eclipse.

-----------------see following post for corrections!-------------

[edit on 18-1-2010 by drsmooth23]

Originally posted by drsmooth23

Originally posted by Nomad451
reply to post by impaired

 

This has always baffled me also. For the moon to be just the right distance away so as to perfectly cover the sun... I can't find any explanation other than co-incidence.

except that an eclipse isnt making the whole earth dark, just a small circle shaped region on the earth-

Correct!

Eclipses are localized things. if you can see an eclipse in North Carolina, you cant see the same one at the same time in California, unless the moons trajectory is in the exact right position, and even then it will be some time later in the day.

Mostly right, except that the shadow moves across the globe from west-to-east, so California gets it before North Carolina.

...obviously a crescent moon is when the earth is partially blocking sunlight. also, when the moon is fully dark, the earth is totally blocking all the sunlight. --this happens about once every 25 days.

This is not correct. Today (January 18th, 2010), if you go outside and it is clear, you will see a crescent moon roughly 30 degrees to the left of the Sun (to the right, if you're in the southern hemisphere). It shows up better after sunset.

Now then, obviously, If you can see both the Sun and the Moon in the sky at the same time, then the Earth can't be casting a shadow on the Moon. Something else causes the phases, and it is simply the way that light shines on a sphere. You can test this by holding a ball at different angles to the Sun. You will see phases, just like the Moon's.

Here is a diagram to help:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6aec9412281d.gif[/atsimg]

(from this site)

Eclipses - when one body partly or fully blocks the Sun from another - only happen twice a year, when the orbit of the Moon crosses a line passing through the Earth and the Sun.