04-07-2010, 12:23 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Florida
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[SPACE] Solar Eclipses on Other Worlds
How would one go about determining the frequency, totality and duration of solar eclipses on other planets?
In the setting I run, the solar eclipse on a particular world has been stated to have a major effect of the natives way of life and activity cycles, but I’ve never actually went in to details (as I didn’t really have any other than a fuzzy idea of the effects). Now I will be running a game where the effect really needs to be known, so I was wondering how to calculate it. Pertinent Information:
I was wondering what the appearance of the Solar eclipse would be like if one were in the “Moonsea”, and how large the ‘moon‘ appears to be in the sky. Anyone know how to figure this out? (Well I’m sure there is… anyone willing to tell me how to figure it out?) Thanks, -Trachmyr |
04-07-2010, 12:36 PM | #2 | ||
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Dallas, TX
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Re: [SPACE] Solar Eclipses on Other Worlds
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04-07-2010, 03:06 PM | #3 | |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Florida
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Re: [SPACE] Solar Eclipses on Other Worlds
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So if the planet has a 540 hour apparent rotation... thats one and a half hours per degree. If the moon was not inclined to the planet's orbit, then that mean a eclipse would only last about 3 hours and 20 minutes, being a total eclipse for just 1 hour and 45 minutes. Is that right? Much shorter than I was hoping for. |
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04-07-2010, 06:20 PM | #4 | |
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Oz
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Re: [SPACE] Solar Eclipses on Other Worlds
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Also, don't forget that a solar eclipse is visible only from a narrow arc on the planet's surface: totality is observable from a strip as wide as the moon's apparent diameter minus the sun's apparent diameter, and at least partial eclipse from a strip as wide as the sum of their apparent diameters. Two-and-a quarter degrees of latitude see any particular eclipse, and about half that see any part of totality. If the inclination of the moon's orbit to the planet's equator is close to zero (likely: tidal forces will tend to reduce obliquity as they increase separation and synchronise rotations) the solar eclipses will be seen only close to the equator. The maximum latitude of the centre-line of the path of totality is arccos {(radius of moon's orbit / radius of planet) * cos (obliquity of moon's orbit)}. If that comes out undefined some eclipses will miss the planet to the north or south, and eclipses will only be visible around ascending node and descending node, i.e. if the moon is near to the points where it crosses the sun's latitude at the time when it happens to be passing the sun's longitude. Last edited by Agemegos; 04-08-2010 at 03:38 AM. |
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eclipse, moon, space |
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