What is an eclipse? Are there different types of eclipses?

Answer 1

An eclipse is when one body is between the Earth and another, obscuring it from view. There are different kinds, A solar eclipse is when the moon blocks the sun. A lunar eclipse is when the Earth blocks the sun's light from reaching the moon, causing our shadow to pass over it.

Answer 2

The phases of an eclipse

A total solar eclipse is one of nature's grandest spectacles but it only occurs because of a cosmic coincidence.
From Earth, the apparent size of our Moon is almost exactly the same as the apparent size of the Sun.

This is not the case for any other planet in the Solar System, so only Earth witnesses such close-fitting solar eclipses.

The Sun is, of course, much larger than the Moon. It is 400 times bigger in fact, but it is also 400 times further away. So when they coincide in the sky, the Moon exactly blocks out the Sun.

This throws the Earth into darkness and allows the normally invisible outer atmosphere of the Sun, the corona, to be seen.

If the Sun and the Moon were aligned perfectly, there would be an eclipse every month at the time of the new Moon. But the Moon's orbit around the Earth is inclined by five degrees compared to the Earth's orbit around the Sun. So a total solar eclipse happens much less frequently.

observer and the eclipsed object; the latter appears to the observer totally or partly covered by the eclipsing object. Eclipses of the Sun, occultations of stars by the Moon, transits of Venus or Mercury across the Sun's disk, and eclipses of binary stars are of this kind. Eclipses of the second type affect only planets or natural satellites that are not self-luminous. In this case, the eclipsing body intervenes between the Sun and the eclipsed object. The latter remains in view of the observer, but its illumination by the Sun is interrupted, and it becomes darkened by entering into the shadow of the eclipsing object. Examples of this kind of eclipse phenomenon are eclipses of the Moon.

Solar and lunar eclipses have long been of interest, because they are readily observable to the unaided eye and offer an impressive spectacle. Primitive peoples were struck with fear by the falling darkness during a total solar eclipse or by the strange sight of the eclipsed Moon.

Answer 3

A solar eclipse is when the moon passes directly between the sun and the earth, blocking the view of the sun from some parts of earth for a short time. A lunar eclipse is when the earth passes between the sun and the moon, casting the shadow of the earth on the moon for a while.

Answer 4

An eclipse is when one astronomical body is between two others, and casts a shadow. On earth, we have both solar and lunar eclipses. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is between the sun and the earth, and at leasy a portion of the shadow is cast on the surface of the earth. A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth is between our moon and the sun, and the shadow if the earth is at least partially cast on the moon.

Answer 5

an eclipse is caused when the shadow falls on an object.
there are two types of eclipses solar and lunar, the solar occurs when the moon comes in between the path of the sun and the earth and lunar eclipse occurs when the earth's shadow falls on the moon.

Answer 6

Comis phenomena.

A solar eclipse it when the moon covers the sun and happens during the day. It is very bright and very dangerous to look at without protection. The order of the space bodies goes as follows: Sun-->Moon-->Earth

A lunar eclipse is when the Earth blocks the light from the sun that makes the moon glow. The body order is as follows: Sun--->Earth-->Moon

Answer 7

An eclipse occurs when one celestial body blocks the view of another body from Earth. There are solar (sun) and lunar (moon) eclipses.
Here are some links to information:
http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html
http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/LEprimer.html
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html

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