1. Eclipses

2. What is an eclipse? The partial or total blocking of one object in space by another When the moon or Earth casts a shadow on the other It can happen in 2 ways: –When the Earth comes between the sun and moon –When the moon comes between the sun and Earth

3. How Does an Eclipse Happen? The moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly tilted when compared to Earth’s orbit around the sun.

4. How Does an Eclipse Happen? The moon’s orbital plane goes below and above the Earth’s orbital plane around the sun Node

5. How Does an Eclipse Happen? an eclipse can only occur when the Moon is in line with the Earth and Sun; an eclipse can only occur when the Moon is in (or near) the ecliptic plane it has to be at, or near, one of the two nodes, and that node has to be positioned in line with the Earth and the Sun.

6. How Does an Eclipse Happen? Node

7. When do Solar Eclipses Occur? During a new moon, the moon is between Earth and the sun. Most of the time, the moon’s orbit is a little above or below where the sun is in the sky

8. When do Solar Eclipses Occur A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes DIRECTLY between Earth and the sun, blocking sunlight from Earth The moon’s shadow hits Earth A solar eclipse happens when a new moon blocks your view of the sun.

9. Total Solar Eclipse During a solar eclipse, the moon’s shadow hits Earth. The shadow area is made of two parts, the umbra and penumbra The umbra is the darkest part of the shadow and is cone shaped The umbra is long enough that the point of the cone can just reach a small part of Earth’s surface

10. Total Solar Eclipse From any point in the umbra, the light from the sun is completely blocked by the moon. Only the people within the umbra experience a total solar eclipse During a total solar eclipse the sky is completely dark, like night and the air gets cooler You can see stars and the corona around the sun

12. Total Solar Eclipse

13. Partial Solar Eclipse During a solar eclipse, the moon’s shadow hits earth and has two parts The penumbra is larger and less dark than the umbra In the penumbra, part of the sun is visible from Earth People in the penumbra only see a partial solar eclipse

15. Partial Solar Eclipse

16. When do Lunar Eclipses Occur? During a full moon, Earth is between the sun and moon During most months the moon moves near Earth’s shadow, but not quite into it.

17. When do Lunar Eclipses Occur? A lunar eclipse happens during a full moon when Earth is DIRECTLY between the moon and the sun, blocking sunlight from reaching the moon The moon is in Earth’s shadow and looks dim from Earth.

18. Total Lunar Eclipse Earth’s shadow also has a umbra and penumbra When the moon is in Earth’s umbra you see a total lunar eclipse You can see the edge of Earth’s shadow on the moon before and after a total lunar eclipse A total lunar eclipse can be seen anywhere on Earth that the moon is visible

20. Lunar Eclipse

21. Partial Lunar Eclipse For most lunar eclipses, Earth, the moon and sun are not quite in line If they are not completely in line only a partial lunar eclipse will happen A partial lunar eclipse happens when the moon passes partly into the umbra of Earth’s shadow

23. Partial Lunar Eclipse