Remembering back to your geography classes at school, you may remember that the moon and the sun both give the impression of rising in the east and setting in the west. However, there are circumstances where it appears that the solar eclipse moves the other way around. Should you wish to observe carefully, you will need specially made glasses to look at the sun to avoid any damage being caused to your eyes.
Inspect the Moon’s Shadow
By going back in time and watching videos of previous solar eclipse episodes, you may see that the moon’s shadow appears to move from west to east. By wearing your solar protected glasses to look at the sun and from above the North Pole, the moon does appear to move counterclockwise as it performs its course of the orbits around the Earth. As the moon’s shadow follows, it shows the eclipse path moving from west to east.
To add further confusion, when you wear your safety glasses to look at the sun and watch as the moon appears to move across the face of the sun from right to left, should you be facing south then it appears that the moon is moving from right to left as its shadow moves the opposite way.
The explanation is that the moon is moving in its orbit and this has nothing to do with the rotation of the Earth.
To be able to watch this wondrous occasion safely, you should wear properly produced eclipse glasses to look at the sun. If you usually wear eyeglasses, you can where the eclipse glasses over your own set.
Effectively, they are solar filters, and the only time you will use these glasses is to watch a partial or total eclipse of the sun. You should only purchase eclipse glasses from a recognized company, preferably one that has great testimonials and reviews and has been operating and selling millions of glasses over the years.
