An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The path (up to 320 km wide) that the Moon's shadow traces on the Earth during a total solar eclipse.

→ path; → totality.

The period during a → solar eclipse when the → Sun is completely blocked by the → Moon. Totality for a → lunar eclipse is the period when the Moon is in the complete → shadow of the → Earth. For a solar eclipse totality can last from only several fractions of a second to a theoretical maximum of 7m 31s, depending on the → distance from the Moon to the Earth. For a lunar eclipse totality can last up to 1h 47m, also depending on the distance from the Moon to the Earth and on its → passage through the shadow. See also → totality path.

→ total; → -ity.

Of a → solar eclipse, the path of the → umbra across the → Earth. The totality path is usually about 100 km across, but under the most favorable conditions, when the → Moon is at its nearest → distance to Earth and the Earth is at its farthest distance from the Sun, the umbra can have a diameter of about 270 km.

→ totality; → path.