How long we will see total solar eclipses — before the moon ditches us
For at least 5,000 years, Earthlings have been awestruck by total solar eclipses.
But the phenomenon may some day become folklore — well, in 600 million years, give or take.
Every 18 months or so, the moon completely blocks the sun’s light somewhere on Earth to create a total solar eclipse.
One is even coming up in April in the United States, when tens of millions of people will be able to experience the phenomenon.
Total solar eclipses are a celestial marvel. The sun’s diameters is about 400 times as big as the moon’s, but it is coincidentally 400 times farther from Earth than the moon.
These eclipses occur when the moon’s angular size largely matches the sun’s. As the moon moves farther way, its angular size will appear smaller.