Just baffles me with how vast space is, yet these rocket scientists and astronomers can predict something so unique with such accuracy
In: Planetary Science
We have had a lot of time to take a lot of measurements and make a lot of observations. When you have that, the math is pretty straightforward, and the motions of celestial objects (Earth, moon, sun) are extremely predictable and regular.
The solar eclipse is literally just the moon passing in front of the Sun. The moon revolves around the Earth at an extremely predictable rate that we know to a very high degree of precision. After that, it’s just a question of doing the math of when that highly predictable orbit will put the moon directly in front of the Sun. This happens every 1-3 years for the record, the eclipse is just usually over empty ocean because the surface of our planet is mostly empty ocean.
The orbits of planets and moons are extremely predictable because so few factors affect them, and are so large that almost nothing affects them at a macroscopic level. Once you know the Moon’s orbital path, orbital inclination, Earth’s rotational speed around the Sun, and the Earth’s tilt, you can calculate eclipses centuries in advanced down to the second with next to no margin of error. The size of these objects make them *more* predictable, not less. How predictable a system is boils down to how many factors there are, not the size of the system, and there are very few factors in play regarding the Moons orbit around the Earth.
The device you’re asking that question from has more transistors in it than there are miles in the entire diameter of our solar system. Even though it doesn’t always seem like it, we are actually pretty good at stuff. Math at these scales is shockingly accurate.
Space is vast, but the objects we’re dealing with are *relatively* close. The Moon is one light second away, and the Sun is eight light minutes away. In contrast the observable universe is *billions* of light years across. Heck we’re even talking low numbers relative to the entire solar system. Pluto is five and a half light *hours* from us – more than 40 times further than the Sun.
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