By: MICHELLE PARK
Staff Writer
A total solar eclipse, in which the moon totally obscures the sun, can only happen on Earth. Why can a complete solar eclipse only take place on Earth?
The diameter of the sun is 400 times greater than that of the moon. Unexpectedly, the distance between the sun and the earth is 400 times greater than the distance between the moon and the Earth. The sun is 400 times bigger than the moon and 400 times farther away from the Earth. Hence, the size of the sun and the moon are almost the same on Earth. Even though Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn have several moons, they can not completely block the sun.
Earth is the only planet in the vast cosmos with a satellite that can entirely block the sun!