Eclipses

K–12 Resource: Reading

Learn about solar eclipses and lunar eclipses

Project Details

Assignment

Hey there, curious minds! Have you ever heard about the incredible events called eclipses? They’re like special shows that happen in the sky from time to time. Let’s learn about them!

Read About the Two Types of Eclipses

Let’s talk about the two main types of eclipses: solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.

Solar Eclipses

Solar eclipses happen when the moon moves between the earth and the sun, blocking out the sun’s light.

Imagine you’re standing outside on a sunny day, and suddenly, the sky starts to get dark. That’s because the moon is passing in front of the sun, blocking some or all of its light. During a total solar eclipse, the moon completely covers the sun, turning day into night for a short time!

Solar Graphic with the Sun at the center, Moon and Earth positioned above it, and a dotted white line circling the Sun and Moon depicting the Earth's path.

Solar eclipse diagram

But why doesn’t a solar eclipse happen every month? Well, that’s because the moon’s orbit around the earth isn’t perfectly aligned with the earth’s orbit around the sun. So, solar eclipses only happen when everything lines up just right.

Lunar Eclipses

Lunar eclipses happen when the earth moves between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow on the moon.

Imagine you’re outside at night, gazing up at the full moon, and suddenly, it starts to get dark. That’s because the earth is moving between the sun and the moon, casting its shadow on the moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the moon can turn a reddish color, which some people call a “blood moon.”

Solar Graphic with the Sun at the center, Earth and Moon positioned below it, and a dotted white line circling the Sun depicting the Earth's path between the Sun and Moon.

Lunar eclipse diagram

Just like solar eclipses, lunar eclipses don’t happen every month. They only occur when the earth, sun, and moon are perfectly aligned.

So, eclipses are like magical dances in the sky, where the earth, sun, and moon take turns blocking each other’s light. They’re rare and wonderful events that remind us of the incredible movements of our solar system!

Glossary

Eclipse

An eclipse is when the Sun, Moon, and Earth line up in a special way, making one of them look like it’s hiding or covering the other. It can be a solar eclipse when the Sun seems to disappear or a lunar eclipse when the Moon gets darker. It’s a magical moment in the sky!

Lunar eclipse

The earth moves between the sun and the moon, and the earth’s shadow falls on the moon.

Orbit

The path that a planet, moon, or spaceship takes as it moves around another object in space. Imagine it’s like a big circle or oval in space that goes around and around. Planets orbit around stars, like our sun, moons orbit around planets, and even satellites orbit around Earth.

Solar eclipse

The moon moves between the sun and the earth, blocking out the sun’s light for a little while.

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