6 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Ask Anything Wednesday - Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science
The very short version is that tidal effects are slowing the rotation of the Earth and that angular momentum is getting transferred into the orbit of the Moon, which is gradually getting further away. So, eventually the Moon will be too small in the sky to completely obscure the Sun and all eclipses that would have been total will just be annular. This is just part of the natural process of tidal locking, which I think is going to take a couple billion more years for the Earth if I'm remembering right.
Comment by Ordoshsen at 26/04/2023 at 20:30 UTC
4 upvotes, 1 direct replies
The process will not finish before the Sun becomes a red giant if I remember correctly