What is an eclipse?

     An eclipse occurs when one object gets in between you and another object and blocks your view. From Earth, we routinely experience two kinds of eclipses: a Solar and Lunar Eclipse.

   The Solar Eclipse occurs when the moon casts its shadow on the Earth. Since the moon is smaller than the Earth, you can’t see the Solar Eclipse from every part of the Earth, but only the locations where the shadow of the moon falls.

    A Lunar Eclipse occurs when the earth blocks the light of the sun to the moon and casts its shadow on the moon.

    You can see the Lunar Eclipse with your bare eyes but not the Solar Eclipse because its harmful UV rays can harm your eyes. To watch the Solar Eclipse, you might want wear welder’s goggles.

     The longest a Solar Eclipse can last is 7 and a 1/ 2 minutes.

A Solar Eclipse always takes place about 2 weeks before or after a Lunar Eclipse.