![]() ![]() When the Moon is entirely in the Earths umbra (known as a total lunar eclipse or umbral eclipse). During an eclipse the Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the Moon. This diagram explains the geometry of the lunar eclipse. So a solar eclipse is really just a new moon in which the moon blocks your view of the sun. ![]() The type of eclipse is dependant on the Moons location on the shadow of the Earth. When the Sun, Earth, and Moon, are precisely aligned, a lunar eclipse will occur. The moons shadow then hits Earth, as shown in the diagram below. The diagram above demonstrates the conditions required for a lunar eclipse. Rarely do these planes line up at the same time as the Sun-Earth-Moon or Sun-Moon-Earth fall in a line however, as the shadow cast by the Earth is larger than the shadow cast by the Moon, partial or total lunar eclipses do tend to occur somewhat more frequently than solar eclipses. This shows the geometry of a lunar eclipse. solar eclipse, the Moon coming between Earth and the Sun so that the Moon’s shadow sweeps over Earth’s surface. Part of the reason for this is that the plane in which the Moon orbits the Earth is tilted with respect to the plane in which the Earth orbits the Sun. Similarly, few Full Moons involve partial or full lunar eclipses. During the solar eclipse, the shadow of the moon falls on the earth. Not every New Moon causes a solar eclipse somewhere on the Earth's surface - in fact few do. Moon, and the Earth lie in a straight line in the same order as mentioned. The Moon falls in the shadow of the planet Earth, then, as shown in the following illustration. In essence, a solar eclipse is when a portion of the Earth's surface falls under the Moon's shadow, as in the diagram, below.Ī lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon is opposite the Sun from Earth, or during the Full Moon phase. A "solar eclipse" can occur during the Moon's "New" phase, when the Moon lies in (or nearest to) a direct line between the Sun and the Earth (or a certain location on the Earth's surface). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |