An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The fraction of the Sun's diameter occulted by the Moon. It is strictly a ratio of diameters and should not be confused with → eclipse obscuration, which is a measure of the Sun's surface area occulted by the Moon. Eclipse magnitude may be expressed as either a percentage or a decimal fraction (e.g., 50% or 0.50). By convention, its value is given at the instant of → greatest eclipse (F. Espenak, NASA).

→ eclipse; → magnitude.