LESSON 3: Solar and Lunar Eclipse

OBJECTIVES:

 Explain what lunar and solar eclipse is.

 Illustrate lunar and solar eclipse.

Pre Test:

Direction: Encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. It occurs when the Earth passes between the Moon and the Sun, and the Earth's shadow
obscures the moon or a portion of it.

A. Lunar Eclipse

B. Solar Eclipse

C. Penumbra Eclipse

D. Ellipsis Eclipse

2. It occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking all or a portion of
the Sun.

A. Lunar Eclipse

B. Solar Eclipse

C. Penumbra Eclipse

D. Ellipsis Eclipse

3. Why don’t we have a lunar eclipse every month?

A. The moon’s path around Earth is tilted compared to Earth’s orbit around the sun.

B. The moon’s path around Earth is semi-circle compared to Earth’s orbit around sun.

C. The moon’s path around Earth is unified circle compared to Earth’s orbit around the sun.

D. The moon’s path around Earth is oblique compared to Earth’s orbit around the sun.

4. In what phase of the moon, lunar eclipses occur?

 A. New moon

B. Half moon

C. Full moon

D. Quarter moon

5. What practical tool can you use in looking in an eclipse?

A. Hubble Space

B. Astrolabe

C. Spectroscope

D. Telescope
Activity 3. Eclipses in the classroom

Materials:

 Adhesive tape
 Glue
 Two cardboard tubes (e.g. empty toilet rolls)
 Torch
 Scissors (suitable for cutting cardboard)
 Aluminum foil
 Sturdy but bendable wire (35-50 cm long)
 Styrofoam ball the size of a large orange
 Ping pong ball (or a Styrofoam ball of a similar size)
 Large strip of cardboard (about 60 cm in length and no less than 20 cm in width)
 Stack of books or magazines

Method:

 Divide the class into groups of three or four. Give each group their own materials to make the model.
 Take one cardboard tube and make a series of small (2 cm) even, vertical cuts around the
circumference of each end.
 At each end, bend the cut pieces out, and then stand the tube upright. At the top, the cut edges
should fan out like a flower.
 Using adhesive tape, fasten one end of the cardboard tube to the strip of cardboard; this is the base
of the model. The tube should be at least 30 cm from one end of the cardboard strip.
 Using tape or glue, attach the larger ball to the open flower of the tube. This ball is the Earth.
 Cover the smaller ball with aluminum foil, shiny side out. This is the Moon.
 Insert one end of the wire into the top of Earth, so that the wire is vertical.
 Measure a finger’s length along the wire. Bend the wire at a right angle to give a horizontal arm.
 Insert the other end of the wire into the Moon.
 About halfway between Earth and the far end of the cardboard strip, measure a finger’s length along
the wire and bend it downwards at a right angle, toward the cardboard base. The Moon’s equator
should be at the same height as Earth’s equator.
 Balance the torch on a stack of books or magazines at the other end of the cardboard strip from Earth.
Make sure the height is correct: the middle of the torch beam should hit Earth’s equator. If the beam
is too diffuse, attach the second cardboard tube to the end of the torch to direct the light horizontally.
Ensure the beam hits the nearest half of Earth and the Moon directly. If the beam is not bright
enough, move the stack of books closer.
Using the model:

 Create a solar eclipse. Stand facing the torch and swing the wire around until the
Moon casts a shadow on Earth; if necessary, dim the lights. The Moon is now
between Earth and the Sun and is blocking the sunshine for some people on Earth.
Point out that only people directly in the shadow see a complete eclipse of the Sun.
You can show how the shadow moves by slowly rotating the wire.
 Now create a lunar eclipse. Stand facing the torch and swing the wire so that the
Moon is behind Earth. No light should be hitting the Moon: Earth is between the Sun
and the Moon, casting a shadow over the entire Moon. Explain that unlike during the
solar eclipse, the entire ‘night side’ of Earth can see the lunar eclipse.

A "lunar eclipse" and a "solar eclipse" refer to events involving three celestial bodies: the Sun
("solar"), the moon ("lunar"), and the Earth. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes
between the Moon and the Sun, and the Earth's shadow obscures the moon or a portion of it. A
solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking all or a
portion of the Sun.

An eclipse can be total, partial, or annular. A total solar eclipse is when the moon blocks out the
Sun entirely, a partial eclipse is when it blocks out a portion of the Sun, and an annular eclipse is
when the moon is at its furthest point in orbit. It will not cover the Sun completely that's when
you can see a thin ring of light emerging from the outside rim of the moon.

How are a lunar eclipse and solar eclipse different?

A lunar eclipse occurs at night and a solar eclipse occurs during the day. There are only certain
times when either of them can occur. A lunar eclipse can only occur when the moon is directly
opposite the Sun in the sky — a full moon. Even though there is a full moon each month,
obviously a lunar eclipse does not occur on a monthly basis because the Sun isn't exactly in line
with the Earth and the moon. The moon's orbit is actually tilted 5 degrees more than that of the
Earth; otherwise, we would see a lunar eclipse each month.

We can see lunar eclipses more readily than solar eclipses, and it has to do with proximity. The
Moon is much closer to the Earth (well over 300 times closer than the Sun!), so the Earth has a
much greater chance of blocking sunlight to the Moon, compared to the Moon blocking light
from the Sun. Also, a lunar eclipse can be seen from a greater portion of the Earth. Solar
eclipses, on the other hand, are rarer and when they do happen can only be seen by a very
narrow segment of people on Earth, for a short period of time.
It is quite safe to watch a lunar eclipse with the naked eye, while watching a solar eclipse
without eyewear protection can seriously damage your eyesight. You can use a telescope to get
a clearer view of the moon during an eclipse and really see what is happening.

A solar eclipse has always had a more profound effect on humans than a lunar eclipse. This is
probably because of the importance of the Sun to all life on Earth. In ancient China, a solar
eclipse was thought to be the dragon coming to eat the Sun. The effect that an eclipse has on
all life on Earth is of particular interest to scientists. They eagerly await a solar eclipse because it
helps them to gather more knowledge about the Sun and its position with respect to Earth.

Lunar Eclipse and Solar Eclipse

An eclipse happens when a planet or a moon gets in the way of the suns light. Here on Earth,
we can experience two kinds of eclipses: solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.

A solar eclipse happens when the moon gets in the way of the suns light and casts its shadow
on Earth. That means during the day, the moon moves over the sun and it gets dark.

The total eclipse happens about every year and a half somewhere on Earth. A partial eclipse,
when the moon doesn’t completely cover the sun, happens at least twice a year somewhere on
Earth.

In this picture, the moon is covering up the sun in the

middle of the day. This total solar eclipse was visible
from the northern tip of Australia on November 13,
2012.

Image courtesy of Romeo Durscher.

But not everyone experiences every solar eclipse.

Getting a chance to see a total solar eclipse is rare. The moon’s shadow on Earth isn’t very big,
so only a small portion of places on Earth will see it. You have to be on the sunny side of the
planet when it happens. You also have to be in the path of the moon’s shadow.
During a lunar eclipse, Earth gets in the way of the sun’s light hitting the moon. That means
that during the night, a full moon fades away as Earth’s shadow covers it up.

The moon can also look reddish because Earth’s atmosphere absorbs the other colors while it
bends some sunlight toward the moon. Sunlight bending through the atmosphere and
absorbing other colors is also why sunsets are orange and red.

During a total lunar eclipse, the moon is shining from all the sunrises and sunsets occurring on
Earth.

The moon appears orange-red in a total lunar eclipse on

October 27, 2004.

Why don’t we have a lunar eclipse every month?

You might be wondering why we don’t have a lunar eclipse every month as the moon orbits
Earth. It’s true that the moon goes around Earth every month, but it doesn’t always get in
Earth’s shadow. The moon’s path around Earth is tilted compared to Earth’s orbit around the
sun. The moon can be behind Earth but still get hit by light from the sun.
In this diagram, you can see that the moon’s orbit around the sun is at a tilt. This is why we
don’t get a lunar eclipse every month. Because they don’t happen every month, a lunar eclipse
is a special event.

Activity 3.1 Quickie Questions

1. During a solar eclipse, what would you see if you stood on the Moon and looked at
Earth?
2. What is the phase of the moon during a solar eclipse? And during a lunar eclipse?
3. Why don’t we see a lunar eclipse during every full moon?
4. Do other planets have eclipses?

Post Test

Direction: Encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. It occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking all or a portion of
the Sun.

A. Lunar Eclipse

B. Solar Eclipse

C. Penumbra Eclipse

D. Ellipsis Eclipse

2. It occurs when the Earth passes between the Moon and the Sun, and the Earth's shadow
obscures the moon or a portion of it.

A. Lunar Eclipse

B. Solar Eclipse

C. Penumbra Eclipse

D. Ellipsis Eclipse

3. What practical tool can you use in looking in an eclipse?

A. Hubble Space

B. Astrolabe

C. Spectroscope
 D. Telescope

4. In what phase of the moon, lunar eclipses occur?

A. New moon

B. Half moon

C. Full moon

D. Quarter moon

5. Why don’t we have a lunar eclipse every month?

A. The moon’s path around Earth is tilted compared to Earth’s orbit around the sun.

B. The moon’s path around Earth is semi-circle compared to Earth’s orbit around sun.

C. The moon’s path around Earth is unified circle compared to Earth’s orbit around the sun.

D. The moon’s path around Earth is oblique compared to Earth’s orbit around the sun.

REFERENCES

spaceplace.nasa.gov/eclipses/en/

http://www.moonconnection.com/lunar_vs_solar.phtml

KEY TO CORRECTION

Pre Test

1. A

2. B

3. A

4. C

5. D

Activity 3. Eclipses in the classroom

Activity 3.1 Quickie Questions

Post Test

1. B

2. A

3. D

4. C

5. A