When the Moon is further away (as is the case for annular eclipses) it appears smaller in the sky than when it's closer. Since it looks smaller it covers less of the Sun. Or maybe it's just that the end of the world will be happening shortly after the eclipse and the Moon will be trying to get the heck away... :) Regarding that, I did a program for 3rd graders today and one asked if the world really is going to end in 2012 (and it was a serious question from a concerned little person). patrick On 22 Feb 2010, at 21:20, Ann House wrote:
Would someone, who is much more knowledgeable than myself, please explain how we have annular solar eclipses. In other words, why is the size of the moon smaller so it doesn't completely shut out the sun, whereas sometimes the moon is large enough to totally eclipse it.
I can't stay up one more night worrying about this. Thanks.
-A