Eclipses

Exercises

1. Explain the following terms

a. Umbra
The umbra (Latin for "shadow") is the innermost and darkest part of a shadow, where the
light source is completely blocked by the occluding body. An observer in
the umbra experiences a total eclipse.
b. Penumbra
Penumbra, (from Latin paene, “almost”; umbra, “shadow”), in astronomy, the outer part of
a conical shadow, cast by a celestial body, where the light from the Sun is partially blocked
—as compared to the umbra (q.v.), the shadow's darkest, central part, where the light is
totally excluded. The dark part of the shadow is the umbra, and the part that is a little
lighter is the penumbra.
2. What is the difference between a total and a partial eclipse.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the disk of the Moon blocks 100 percent of the solar disk so that
sunlight does not reach Earth. A partial eclipse occurs when the Moon only partially covers the disk
of the Sun.
3. Explain the differens phases of an eclipse
a. First contact
The Moon starts becoming visible over the Sun's disk. The Sun looks as if a bite has been
taken from it.
b. Second contact
The entire disk of the Sun is covered by the Moon. Observers in the path of the
Moon's umbra may be able to see Baily's beads and the diamond ring effect, just before
totality.
c. Totality
 The Moon completely covers the disk of the Sun. Only the Sun's corona is visible. This is
the most dramatic stage of a total solar eclipse. At this time, the sky goes dark,
temperatures can fall, and birds and animals often go quiet. The midpoint of time of
totality is known as the maximum point of the eclipse. Observers in the path of the Moon's
umbra may be able to see Baily's beads and the diamond ring effect, just after totality ends.
d. Third contact
The Moon starts moving away, and the Sun reappears.
e. Fourth contact
The Moon stops overlapping the Sun's disk. The eclipse ends at this stage in this location.

Lunar eclipse
4. Describe the position of the Sun, Earth, and Moon during a lunar eclipse.
a. Draw a picture (or find a good illustration) of the position of the Sun, Earth and Moon
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra
(shadow). This can occur only when the sun, Earth and moon are aligned exactly, or very
closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can occur only the night of a
 full moon.
Actually, Earth comes between moon and the sun to become completely dark because
moon has no light of its own.
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.

5. During which lunar phase does Lunar eclipse occur?

full moon .A lunar eclipse occurs at night at full moon, when Earth passes between the Sun and the
Moon.
6. Why don’t we have lunar eclipse every month?
 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.
7. When does the next total lunar eclipse occur in Denmark?
26 may 2021
8. The moon turns read during a total lunar eclipse (Blood moon). Explain this phenomenon.
The Moon does not have any light of its own—it shines because its surface reflects sunlight. During
a total lunar eclipse, the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon and cuts off the Moon's light
supply. When this happens, the surface of the Moon takes on a reddish glow instead of going
completely dark.

A total lunar eclipse happens when the Moon travels through the Earth's umbra and blocks all direct
sunlight from illuminating the Moon's surface. However, some sunlight still reaches the lunar surface
indirectly, via the Earth's atmosphere, bathing the Moon in a reddish, yellow, or orange glow.
As the Sun's rays pass through the atmosphere, some colors in the light spectrum—those towards the
violet spectrum—are filtered out by a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. This is the same mechanism
that causes colorful sunrises and sunsets. Red wavelengths are least affected by this effect, so the light
reaching the Moon's surface has a reddish hue, causing the fully eclipsed Moon to take on a red color.

9. How long does a lunar eclipse last?

 A lunar eclipse can last up to 3 hours and 40 minutes.

Solar eclipse
1. Describe the position of the Sun, Earth, and Moon during a solar eclipse.
a. Draw a picture (or find a good illustration) of the position of the Sun, Earth, and Moon
In a solar eclipse, the Moon partly or fully blocks the light from the Sun. So the order is Sun,
Moon, Earth, in a more-or-less direct line. Shadow of Moon falls on earth.From this
location Sun is hidden fully or partially. Moon is in between Sun and Earth.

2. During which lunar phase does solar eclipse occur?

new moon
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon gets between Earth and the sun, and the moon casts a
shadow over Earth. A solar eclipse can only take place at the phase of new moon, when the moon
passes directly between the sun and Earth and its shadows fall upon Earth's surface

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

The orbit of the moon is tilted relative to the orbit of the Earth
around the sun, so the moon often passes below or above
Earth. At those times, it does not cross the line between the
sun and the Earth, and therefore does not create a solar
 eclipse. There are just two times a year in the Earth's orbit when there is a possibility of a total
solar eclipse.
4. Explain why it is only possible to see a total solar eclipse in a small region/band on the Earth.
The moon's shadow on Earth isn't very big, so only a small portion of places on Earth will see it.
5. During a total solar eclipse, a bright shadow around the sun can be seen (see the picture to the
right. What is this “shadow”?
Like any other opaque objects illuminated by a light source, the Moon and the Earth
cast shadows into space as they block the sunlight that hits them.  The ring of light seen during a
total solar eclipse is called a corona (meaning 'crown' in Latin) is an aura of plasma that surrounds
the Sun and other stars.
6. What are the Baily’s beads and diamond ring phenomenon?
a phenomenon, sometimes observed immediately before and after a total eclipse of the sun, in
which one of Baily's beads is much brighter than the others, resembling a diamond ring around the
moon.
The Baily's beads effect, or diamond ring effect, is a feature of total and annular solar eclipses. As
the Moon covers the Sun during a solar eclipse, the rugged topography of the lunar limb allows
beads of sunlight to shine through in some places while not in others.
7. When will it be possible to see a solar eclipse in Denmark again?
The next partial solar eclipse in Denmark is in 379 days on Thursday, 06/10/2021.
The next total solar eclipse in Denmark is in 44557 days on Friday, 05/25/2142.