While they are incredibly beautiful and have inspired awe (and sometimes fear) for hundreds of thousands of years, many people do not actually understand exactly what an eclipse is, and why it happens.
The two main types of eclipse which we see from Earth (with the naked eye) are solar and lunar eclipses. Solar eclipses occur when the shadow of the moon crosses earth – in effect, the moon passes in between the sun and the Earth and creates darkness in the middle of the day! Lunar eclipses occur when the moon moves into the shadow of Earth, preventing the sun’s light from shining on the moon. The moon will grow dark and in total eclipse will have an eerie orangey-red glow. Lunar eclipses will only occur during full moon, and of course can only be seen by the areas of Earth that are in night-time darkness.
Eclipses are what are known as a type of syzygy, which is an alignment of at least three celestial bodies (physical objects in space) in a straight line, within the same gravitational system (such as our solar system).
There are several types of eclipses as well, and these types are determined by the distance of the particular celestial bodies from one another, and where they all are in their rotational cycles. The most striking of eclipses is a ‘total’ eclipse, which means that the sun or moon appears to be completely covered in shadow. Partial eclipses occur when the shadow passes over only part of the sun or moon. Annular eclipses are also very beautiful – the sun can look like a bright ring with a dark circle in the center. The type of eclipse you see also depends on where you are in the world – a total eclipse in some areas may be seen as an annular eclipse in others.
The two main types of eclipse which we see from Earth (with the naked eye) are solar and lunar eclipses. Solar eclipses occur when the shadow of the moon crosses earth – in effect, the moon passes in between the sun and the Earth and creates darkness in the middle of the day! Lunar eclipses occur when the moon moves into the shadow of Earth, preventing the sun’s light from shining on the moon. The moon will grow dark and in total eclipse will have an eerie orangey-red glow. Lunar eclipses will only occur during full moon, and of course can only be seen by the areas of Earth that are in night-time darkness.
Eclipses are what are known as a type of syzygy, which is an alignment of at least three celestial bodies (physical objects in space) in a straight line, within the same gravitational system (such as our solar system).
There are several types of eclipses as well, and these types are determined by the distance of the particular celestial bodies from one another, and where they all are in their rotational cycles. The most striking of eclipses is a ‘total’ eclipse, which means that the sun or moon appears to be completely covered in shadow. Partial eclipses occur when the shadow passes over only part of the sun or moon. Annular eclipses are also very beautiful – the sun can look like a bright ring with a dark circle in the center. The type of eclipse you see also depends on where you are in the world – a total eclipse in some areas may be seen as an annular eclipse in others.