Eclipse Science W7-8

• Solar eclipse occurs during the new moon and it happens during the day
• The moon is located in between the sun and earth and the moon blocks the light of the sun to the earth
• The moon does not make its own light rather the sun shines on the moon and the reflected sunlight makes the moon visible from earth
• During a lunar eclipse the earth is positioned between the sun and the moon
• The earth blocks the light coming from the sun to the moon
• A lunar eclipse occurs during the full moon and it can be observed during night time
• Unlike solar eclipse which only lasts for a few minutes, a lunar eclipse can last for a few hours
• Unlike solar eclipse where it can be only observed from a relatively small area of earth, the lunar eclipse is visible anywhere on the night side of the earth
• Types of lunar eclipse

  • Total lunar eclipse
  • Penumbral lunar eclipse
  • Partial lunar eclipse
• Umbra


  The darker inner region of a shadow
• Penumbra


  The grey outer region of a shadow
• When the moon is located within the umbra of the earth's shadow a total lunar eclipse occurs
• During a total lunar eclipse the moon will look totally dark
• During a total lunar eclipse the moon can turn into a reddish color
• The reddish color is because as the light coming from the sun enters the earth's atmosphere, the blue light and other colors are filtered out only the red color enters the atmosphere and refracted on the moon
• When the moon travels on the penumbra of the earth's shadow a penumbral eclipse happens
• A penumbral eclipse is quite hard to spot
• When part of the moon is located on the penumbra and another part is located on the umbra of the earth's shadow a partial lunar eclipse occurs
• In a partial lunar eclipse only a part of the moon appears to be dark while the rest will be light
• Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse can be observed directly using your naked eye
• Lunar eclipses are safe to observe without using any special devices
• Knowing about the eclipses is very important to explain how and why this phenomena occur
• Observing the earth's shadow on the moon during an eclipse can help correct some misconceptions and superstitions about eclipses
• People who live hundred years ago discover that the earth is round
• Scientists study eclipses to further understand the earth, the moon and the sun