In a recent quiz there was an answer that said that the longest a solar eclipse can be is 7 minutes and 31 seconds. Why?

zbeckabee

Because the alignment is altered within that time frame. A total eclipse occurs when the Sun is completely obscured by the Moon. The intensely bright disk of the Sun is replaced by the dark silhouette of the Moon, and the much fainter corona is visible. During any one eclipse, totality is visible only from at most a narrow track on the surface of the Earth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse Solar eclipses are relatively brief events that can only be viewed in totality along a relatively narrow track. Under the most favorable circumstances, a total solar eclipse can last for 7 minutes, 31 seconds, and can be viewed along a track that is up to 250 km wide. http://www.freewikimedia.com/en/wiki/Eclipses.html#Solar_eclipse Aug 06 08, 2:46 PM