[Breaking the superstition about solar and lunar eclipses] What are solar and lunar eclipses?

Two days before the publication of this issue (1 30th), the whole country can see the total lunar eclipse. Half a month later (February 14), a partial solar eclipse can be seen in most areas. Now that the eclipse has passed, it happens to be the first day of the first lunar month. You may have time to get up early to observe. The attached eclipse schedule is calculated by Purple Mountain Observatory for your reference. When observing the solar eclipse, in order to avoid the sun's irritation to the eyes, you can take a piece of glass and blacken it by candlelight, and observe it through the blackened glass.

There were many superstitions about solar and lunar eclipses in the past. Some people say that the solar eclipse is the "Tiangou" eating the sun, and the lunar eclipse is the "Tiangou" eating the moon, telling everyone to knock gongs and set off firecrackers to drive away the "Tiangou". Some people think that the solar eclipse is an "ominous sign" and they are afraid when they see it. People were not clear about natural phenomena before, so it is natural to have such an idea. However, today, once we fully understand the cause of the eclipse, it is of course ridiculous to hear this statement.

Among the broad masses of the people in our country, due to the influence of thousands of years of feudal legacy, there may still be some people who lack scientific understanding of the solar eclipse. Young people should seize the opportunity of this eclipse, shoulder the task of popularizing scientific knowledge and make extensive publicity.

To do a good job of extensive publicity, young people themselves should thoroughly understand the truth of solar eclipse and lunar eclipse, so as to make the truth clear and convince everyone.

What exactly is a solar eclipse?

We know that the sun we usually see is a luminous celestial body, about 30,000 Wan Li away from our earth. The moon itself does not shine, but the sun shines on it to illuminate. The earth goes around the sun, and the solar calendar is once a year, but the moon turns red on the earth, and the lunar calendar is once a month. Therefore, the moon must walk between the sun and the earth once a month. At this time, we can't see the side of the moon illuminated by the sun. This is called the new moon, which is the first day of the lunar calendar. The moon must walk on the other side of the earth once a month. At this time, the side of the moon illuminated by the sun is facing us, and we can see the full moon in the garden, which is the half moon of the lunar calendar. If the moon happens to be between the sun and the earth, blocking the sunlight to the earth, we can't see the sun, which will lead to a solar eclipse, so the solar eclipse is such a simple thing. So doesn't it mean that there will be a solar eclipse on the first day of the lunar calendar? This is not going to happen. Because the orbit of the moon around the earth and the orbit of the earth around the sun are not on the same plane, sometimes the moon is higher or lower than the sun, although it is between the sun and the earth. It can't stop the sun, and there won't be an eclipse. Similarly, if the moon is on the other side of the earth, and the earth happens to be between the sun and the moon, it will block the light from the sun to the moon, and then an eclipse will occur. But not every lunar month and a half will have an eclipse, because although the moon is on the other side of the earth, it is sometimes high and sometimes low, and may not be in the shadow of the earth, then we can see the full moon.

Now that we know the truth about the solar and lunar eclipses, people who study astronomy can further calculate the orbit of the earth around the sun and the orbit of the moon around the earth, and we can calculate which month the first moon in the lunar calendar just blocks the sunlight coming to the earth, and which half moon in the lunar calendar just blocks the light coming from the sun to the moon, that is, we can calculate when the solar and lunar eclipses will happen in advance. Modern astronomers have been able to calculate the eclipse time hundreds of years later with great accuracy. This is more accurate than predicting when you will wake up tomorrow morning. And you can also calculate where you can see a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse, whether you see a total solar eclipse or a partial solar eclipse, and what is a partial solar eclipse. It can also be seen from this that there is no mystery at all.

Besides, the moon, the sun and other celestial bodies are far away from us. The general phenomenon of astronomy has no direct influence on us human beings. In fact, even weather phenomena such as wind, rain and thunder have a direct impact on human beings, but as long as we can study the laws of these weather phenomena, we can also correctly predict the weather, even like the Soviet Union in socialist countries, we have been able to transform the climate by artificial methods. Our new China has also begun to build shelter forests and water conservancy projects to transform and control the climate. It's only a matter of time. People in New China should have a deep understanding of the old saying "Man can conquer nature".

Young people should not only know these scientific knowledge by themselves, but also widely publicize them to the people. To get rid of superstitious ideas, we should also help everyone to establish a materialistic world outlook and tell everyone not only to be the master of the country, but also to be the master of nature.

1February, 953 14, partial solar eclipse was observed in several metropolises in China.

Eat at a loss for the first time, eat at an extraordinary time, and eat at a recovery time.

Beijing 7: 27, 8: 27, 9: 3 1: 0.622

Shenyang 7: 35, 8: 37, 9: 43 0.628

Shanghai 7: 20: 8:17: 9:19: 0.496

Nanjing 7: 0019: 0816: 0917: 03.

Qingdao 7: 25, 8: 24, 9: 25 0.567

Hankou 7: 0017: 0010: 09: 00.484

Guangzhou 7: 00 12 7: 59 8: 49 0.338

8: 0013: 0911:0.539 in Xi 'an before sunrise.

8: 04: 08: 58: 00 before sunrise in Chongqing

The above table shows that the initial loss is that black shadows begin to appear on the sun; The solar eclipse is the biggest black shadow on the sun; Recovery is the disappearance of the black shadow on the sun. An eclipse is how much the shadow occupies the whole solar area when it is at its maximum. For example, a solar eclipse of 0.622 means that black shadows occupy more than six-tenths of the entire solar area. The time on the watch is east longitude 120 degrees (that is, Beijing standard time). Therefore, the longitude is in the west of east longitude 120 degrees, and every difference in longitude 15 degrees will lead to an hour earlier.

(See the original layout for the picture)