Well, we don't actually KNOW, but the show has strongly implied that such is the case and I am willing to go with it. To address the issue with firebenders bending at night, I would say that an eclipse represents being "cut off" from the patron spirit while the fact that it is night only represents being further away from that spirit so the bender's abilities are weakened, but not lost entirely.



Right now I am seeing it go one of two general ways from a dramatic perspective. Either they fail and have to deal with the emotions surrounding a missed opportunity, or they succeed and the Earth Kingdom retakes a significant portion of their cities and territories. Either way, I don't see it being a total defeat of the Fire Nation as Aang will need to emerge the hero and defeat the Fire Lord. The writers could have Aang attack the Fire Lord on that day, but then he wouldn't need to bother learning firebending. Not to mention it would not make for the epic battle everyone expects.

Copper for your thoughts.

On question 1;
Well, maybe as long as the Moon and Sun can touch Earth with their "magical influence" the bending can still work but if the bender is feeling the influence directly, their powers increase. So like the sun hitting the other side of the planet still grants fire benders their power but if the moon completely stops the rays from coming, then fire benders lose their ability to bend. This works the same with Earth Benders. If they are completely cut off from the Earth, such as being encased in metal, they lose their powers. I suppose this works on an Air bender in a vacuum but if you get a person into a vacuum then bending is the least of their worries.

On question 2, no one has ever won a war in one day. The esclipse will just be a day where the Fire Nation warriors have to step up and defend for 24 hrs. I mean, if that happened during a siege, it would be devestating, but during a spread out war?

Question one:
No a solar eclipse is just a conflict between the power of the sun on the fire benders and the power of the moon. They probably weakened yes, but consider this. Every night the sun goes to the other side of the earth. The earth last i checked was much larger than the moon. So while they are weakened they aren't likely going to be complete vulnerable.

Question two: Not likely. No one really remembers Solzan's(sp?) comet that well considering how long ago it was. If Aang and Co. had to go to the library to find that out it probably means no one knows. It's almost like saying to someone "i can read your mind believe me it's true". Not everyone will believe. There will be some who will take the chance, but not many

Everything in the show to this point is saying the opposite. Remember the battle in the North Pole. When the moon was eclipsed, every water bender lost their bending, even Master Pakku, and it was not just weakened, it was a total loss. With Fire being the opposite to Water, I think the same will happen during a solar eclipse. Unless the writers plan on doing a major plot twist and not go down the path they have laid. In which case, Aang and friends are in for a big surprise, and not a pleasant one. LOL

Copper for your thoughts.

^^interesting plot, but consider that we never really did see everyone lose their powers. After the moon was destroyed Aang went into the avatar state and merged with the spirit.

So actually there remains a large speculation on whether or not full powers are stripped or just partially stripped.

Actually we did see them lose their powers. Rewatch the episode. When Zhao captures the moon spirit koi, the moon turns red (eclipses), Master Pakku loses his bending abilities and is no longer able to maintain his waterspout thus falling to ground, none of the other waterbenders are able to bend anymore either. This is what Katara is talking about when in the library they learn of the solar eclipse and she comments about what the lunar eclipse did to the waterbenders.

Copper for your thoughts.