CONTENTS WHAT ARE ECLIPSES 4 ANCIENT ECLIPSES 6 SOLAR ECLIPSES 8 OBSERVATIONS OF A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE 10 VIEWING A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE 14 LUNAR ECLIPSES 16 VIEWING A LUNAR ECLIPSE 18 ECLIPSE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES 20 PREDICTING ECLIPSES 22 ECLIPSES IN THE UNITED STATES 24 OTHER TYPES OF ECLIPSES 26 BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM 28 GLOSSARY 30 FOR MORE INFORMATION 31 INDEX 32
WHAT ARE ECLIPSES An eclipse happens when one object in space blocks another from view Eclipses happen because planets planets moons and other celestial bodies constantly move through space As Earth moves around the sun in a path called an orbit the moon makes its own orbit around Earth At certain points in each orbit the sun moon and Earth line up in a row During a solar eclipse the moon comes between Earth and the sun for a short time The moon’s shadow falls on Earth’s surface The inner part 4 This artwork shows how the sun moon and Earth align to create an eclipse of the sun as seen on Earth
VOCABULARY Celestial bodies are objects located in the sky such as the moon other planets asteroids and stars of the shadow is called the umbra People watching from within the umbra experience a total solar eclipse In a total solar eclipse the moon appears as almost exactly the right size to completely cover the sun when observed from Earth The outer part of the shadow is the penumbra penumbra People viewing from within the penumbra see a partial eclipse Another type of eclipse happens when Earth comes between the moon and the sun That is called a lunar eclipse In the darkly shaded region umbra a solar eclipse is total in the lightly shaded region penumbra penumbra the eclipse is partial 5
