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    Eclipse

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    Angelo Sinfuego
    Eclipses occur when the Earth, Moon, and Sun are aligned so that one celestial body's shadow falls on another. A solar eclipse happens at new moon when the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun, blocking the Sun's light. A lunar eclipse happens at full moon when the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow. Eclipses do not occur at every new or full moon because the Moon's orbit is tilted relative to the Earth's orbit, so the three bodies are not exactly aligned. The angles must be very close to perfect for an eclipse to take place.

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    Eclipse

    Uploaded by

    Angelo Sinfuego
    13 views1 page
    Eclipses occur when the Earth, Moon, and Sun are aligned so that one celestial body's shadow falls on another. A solar eclipse happens at new moon when the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun, blocking the Sun's light. A lunar eclipse happens at full moon when the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow. Eclipses do not occur at every new or full moon because the Moon's orbit is tilted relative to the Earth's orbit, so the three bodies are not exactly aligned. The angles must be very close to perfect for an eclipse to take place.

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    Eclipses occur when the Earth, Moon, and Sun are aligned so that one celestial body's shadow falls on another. A solar eclipse happens at new moon when the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun, blocking the Sun's light. A lunar eclipse happens at full moon when the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow. Eclipses do not occur at every new or full moon because the Moon's orbit is tilted relative to the Earth's orbit, so the three bodies are not exactly aligned. The angles must be very close to perfect for an eclipse to take place.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    13 views1 page

    Eclipse

    Uploaded by

    Angelo Sinfuego
    Eclipses occur when the Earth, Moon, and Sun are aligned so that one celestial body's shadow falls on another. A solar eclipse happens at new moon when the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun, blocking the Sun's light. A lunar eclipse happens at full moon when the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow. Eclipses do not occur at every new or full moon because the Moon's orbit is tilted relative to the Earth's orbit, so the three bodies are not exactly aligned. The angles must be very close to perfect for an eclipse to take place.

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    Eclipse conditions

    Eclipses may occur when the Earth and the Moon are aligned with the Sun, and the shadow of one
    body cast by the Sun falls on the other. So at new moon, when the Moon is in conjunction with the
    Sun, the Moon may pass in front of the Sun as seen from a narrow region on the surface of the
    Earth and cause a solar eclipse. At full moon, when the Moon is in opposition to the Sun, the Moon
    may pass through the shadow of the Earth, and a lunar eclipse is visible from the night half of the
    Earth. Conjunction and opposition of the Moon together have a special
    name: syzygy (from Greek for "junction"), because of the importance of these lunar phases.
    An eclipse does not happen at every new or full moon, because the plane of the orbit of the
    Moon around the Earth is tilted with respect to the plane of the orbit of the Earth around the Sun
    (the ecliptic): so as seen from the Earth, when the Moon is nearest to the Sun (new moon) or at
    largest distance (full moon), the three bodies usually are not exactly on the same line.
    This inclination is on average about 5° 9′, much larger than the apparent mean diameter of the Sun
    (32′ 2″), the Moon as seen from the surface of the Earth right beneath the Moon (31′ 37″), and the
    shadow of the Earth at the mean lunar distance (1° 23′).
    Therefore, at most new moons the Earth passes too far north or south of the lunar shadow, and at
    most full moons the Moon misses the shadow of the Earth. Also, at most solar eclipses the apparent
    angular diameter of the Moon is insufficient to fully obscure the solar disc, unless the Moon is near
    its perigee, i.e. closer to the Earth and apparently larger than average. In any case, the alignment
    must be close to perfect to cause an eclipse.
    An eclipse can only occur when the Moon is close to the plane of the orbit of the Earth, i.e. when
    its ecliptic latitude is small. This happens when the Moon is near one of the two nodes of its orbit on
    the ecliptic at the time of the syzygy. Of course, to produce an eclipse, the Sun must also be near a
    node at that time: the same node for a solar eclipse, or the opposite node for a lunar eclipse.

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