Arturo O. answered • 08/20/17
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The sun still appears to rise in the east and set in the west, due to the rotation of the earth in the opposite direction. The timing of the eclipse depends on the positioning of the moon relative to the sun and earth. That will be seen differently at different points on the earth at different times.
Arturo O.
The earth rotates in a west to east direction. The sun stands still. To an observer on the rotating earth, the sun appears to move in the opposite direction, which is east to west. So we say the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, even though it is not really moving.
However, the eclipse is caused by the moon moving between the earth and the sun. Depending on where you are on the earth and the time of day, the moon may block all or part of the sun for a little while, or none it. The moon will move between the earth and the sun in such a way that the blocking of the sun by the moon will be seen shifting in a west to east direction as the day progresses. That is not saying the sun is moving west to east. What is moving west to east is the location where an observer can actually see the event of the sun being blocked in whole or in part by the moon.
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08/20/17
John R.
better thanks
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08/20/17
Arturo O.
You are welcome, John.
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08/20/17
David W.
The rotation of the Earth is of little importance for an eclipse (it does help to explain the curved path); an eclipse happens because the Earth revolves around the Sun and the Moon gets in the way.
The Earth takes approximately 365 days to revolve around the Sun and the Moon takes approximately 28 days to revolve around the Earth, but the Earth rotates once each day. Thus, the "nearly stationary" point of an eclipse shadow moves fron West to East as the Earth passes thru it while revolving -- less to do with the Earth's rotation.
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08/20/17
John R.
08/20/17