What are the astronomical odds of the moon's placement in its orbit allowing for a perfect total solar eclipse, exactly covering the face of the sun?
2006-07-13 04:38:11 · 6 answers · asked by nittany128 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Point taken, but to be fair-- you realize it's less than perfect and varies a lot. This is why some eclipses that would otherwise be total are annular and we see the "ring" of sun around the moons edge.
2006-07-13 05:00:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
lol ok im not doing the math for this, but I'll tell you what to do to figue it out.
Calculate all possible orbital distances for the moon and there you have your odds, 1 in X.
the moons orbit is slowly drifting away from us ( i forget the rate) but at one time an eclipse would have totally covered the sun and beyond and in the future it will cover less.
2006-07-13 04:47:53 · answer #2 · answered by JCCCMA 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The earths orbit around the sun is quite eliptical, and the moons orbit around the earth is slightly eliptical. As a result the moon doesn't always completely block out the sun.
2006-07-13 05:07:55 · answer #3 · answered by corvis_9 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
None. or very low. To achieve this moon has to move little further away from the earth. This can not happen unless some collision or other external activity
2006-07-13 04:41:33 · answer #4 · answered by Dr M 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pretty good, considering most bodies in this solar system adhere more or less to a solar plane.
2006-07-13 04:43:36 · answer #5 · answered by bablunt 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a billion to one
2006-07-13 04:41:53 · answer #6 · answered by Dwayne 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋