Solar Eclipse Definition
A solar eclipse occurs when the view of the Sun from Earth is blocked by the Moon. For example, during a total solar eclipse, the Sun's corona becomes visible.
View Lesson on Solar & Lunar EclipsesIf you are on a school computer or network, ask your tech person to whitelist these URLs:
*.wistia.com, fast.wistia.com, fast.wistia.net, embedwistia-a.akamaihd.net
Sometimes a simple refresh solves this issue. If you need further help, contact us.
Solar & Lunar Eclipses
Fun Facts
- During a solar eclipse, the Moon cannot be seen because its lighted half is facing the Sun and its dark side faces Earth,
- Solar eclipses can only occur at new moon phase.
- The Moon is 400 times smaller but also 400 times closer than the Sun.
Why Do We Need To Know About Solar Eclipse
Learning about solar eclipses helps us understand space better. When a planet moves in front of a star, it blocks some of the star’s light. Astronomers can notice this because the light from the star gets a little dimmer. They use big telescopes, like the Kepler space telescope, to see these changes in light and figure out how big the planet is and how far it is from the star.
This way of studying eclipses has helped find more than 2000 planets, some of which are a lot like Earth. Knowing about eclipses is really important in astronomy because it helps us find planets where life might exist and teaches us more about space. Also, learning about this can lead to many different jobs in space science, like studying the history of our solar system or planning space missions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Topics
- Amplitude Definition
- Astronomy Definition
- Bacteria Definition
- Batteries Definition
- Cast Fossils Definition
- Cellular Respiration Definition
- Condensation Definition
- Continental Drift Definition
- Corona Definition
- Decomposer Definition
- Definition Of Nutrients
- Definition Of Science
- Earth’s Axis Definition
- Earthquake Definition
- Energy Definition
- Engineer Definition
- Frequency Definition
- Gas Definition
- Geologic Time Scale Definition
- Geosphere Definition
- Hearing Definition
- Hydrosphere Definition
- Igneous Rock Definition
- Keystone Species Definition
- Law Of Conservation Of Matter Definition
- Limited Resource Definition
- Liquid Definition
- Lunar Eclipse Definition
- Molecule Definition
- Natural Resource Definition
- Non-renewable Resource Definition
- Organ Definition
- Partial Eclipse Definition
- Pollution Definition
- Pulley Definition
- Push Definition
- Rain Definition
- Reproduction Definition
- Rock Definition
- Seed Dispersal Definition
- Smelling Definition
- Solar Eclipse Definition
- Solid Definition
- Species Definition
- Star Definition
- Sun Definition
- Total Eclipse Definition
- Trait Definition
Select Grade
Select Subject
Skip, I will use a 3 day free trial
Enjoy your free 30 days trial