Solar & Lunar Eclipses

An orbit is a regular, repeating pattern that one object in space takes around another object. The objects in our solar system orbit the Sun.

Earth orbits around the Sun once per year. Earth rotates on its axis once every day (24 hours).

A solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in alignment and the Moon covers the Sun. There are different kinds of solar eclipses depending on how much of the Moon is blocked by the Sun. A partial eclipse covers a portion of the Sun, and a total eclipse covers all of the Sun’s surface.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into Earth’s shadow. This occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in alignment and when the Moon is full.

Drawings should include the Sun, Earth, and Moon in a line, with the Moon between the Earth and Sun.

Drawings should include the Sun, Earth, and Moon in a line with Earth between the Sun and Moon.

The Moon is about 400 times smaller than the Sun and about 400 times closer to Earth. Those proportions cause the Sun and the Moon to look about the same size.

Although all models have limitations, Dr. Jeff was trying to accurately represent the size of each object in the Earth-Sun-Moon system relative to one another.

We would have an increase in the number eclipses we can see because of the orbit of the Moon around Earth.

The Moon would no longer be able to cover the entire Sun, so the Sun would appear as a ring of light.

An eclipse is the result of a cause-and-effect relationship between Earth, the Sun, and the Moon. To cause a solar eclipse, the Moon has to move between Earth and the Sun. The effect of this alignment is that portions of the Sun are blocked and not visible on Earth for short periods of time.

Scientists know that the position of the Sun, Earth, and Moon causes eclipses. We have centuries of data that we can use to identify patterns of when these alignments will occur, allowing us to predict them in the future.