Coincidence or By Design? – Total Solar Eclipse Facts
Quick Facts: Total Solar Eclipses
Sun’s diameter: ~865,000 miles
Moon’s diameter: ~2,159 miles (about 400x smaller than the Sun)
Sun’s distance from Earth: ~93 million miles
Moon’s distance from Earth: ~239,000 miles (about 400x closer than the Sun)
Why it matters: that matching ~400:1 ratio is what makes total solar eclipses possible from Earth — and Earth alone
Why Can Only Earth Experience a Total Solar Eclipse?
How many planets, experience a total solar eclipse?
A total solar eclipse is when one planet completely blocks the sun.
Totality is only possible if the objects appear the same size in the sky.
But the moon and sun are completely different sizes and distances from Earth.
This means the ratio of the distance to Earth, and sizes of the moon and sun, are exactly matched.
To see an eclipse in totality from any other planet is actually impossible.
The exact ratio needed, which is 400 to 1, only exists on Earth.
Even though there are eight planets with a combination of 293 moons in all, only Earth experiences solar totality.
What a coincidence for the only planet where life, is known to exist…
Video Credits
Script, Still Graphics, 3D Animation and Video Editing: Jef Gray
Planet footage: Christian Bodhi-Pixabay
Video Production: International Peace and Film Festival
