Eclipses

Have you ever seen an eclipse? And do you know of the different types of eclipses that occur!

 

Yes, there are different types of eclipses and they occur at different times, in different phases, and in different positions.

 

 

Eclipses would occur in different star systems, in different galaxies, all over the universe, however these would be too far away to be detected and to be observed with current technology, so we are going to focus on the eclipses that occur local to us.

 

There are ‘Solar Eclipses’ & there are ‘Lunar Eclipses’ that occur in our solar system, and we will get into more detail as to what the differences are between both of these amazing events.

 

An eclipse in simple terms is

When a celestial object such as a moon or a planet moves directly into the shadow of another celestial object

From Earth we can observe two types of eclipses. An eclipse of the sun and an eclipse of the moon. There are partial eclipses and there are total eclipses depending of the position of the objects and also the timing of alignments.   

 

Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse is when the moon blocks out the sun, and this is visible from the surface of earth. This happens a few times a year. The moon lines up with the sun, covering up the sun causing a shadow, better known as an ‘umbra’ with the cause being that in day time it turns to dark just like night. This is an amazing event.

 

Lunar Eclipse

A lunar eclipse is when the Earth blocks out the sun, and this causes the Earth’s shadow to fall on the moon. Unlike a solar eclipse where day turns to night on the Earth, with a lunar eclipse.

 

Kids Fun Facts Corner

# 1. The temperature drops on earth when a solar eclipse occurs.

# 2. Total solar eclipses can last up to 8 minutes.

# 3. Once the moon is visible a lunar eclipse can be seen from any location on Earth.

# 4. Lunar eclipses can last for hours. 

 

Q&A Corner

Q. What is an eclipse?

Q. What types of eclipses are there?

Q. What is a solar eclipse?

Q. What is a lunar eclipse?

Q. How long do solar and lunar eclipses last for?

Download questions about eclipses here: eclipses (answers are on this page)

Teachers. Fore more in depth work sheets on eclipses. Click on Kidskonnect. Worksheets

For further reading and more info on eclipses visit www.spacedictionary.org/eclipse