OpenOlympiad
Concept 7 of 9Foundation
Video

Shadows at cosmic scale — eclipses

When one heavenly body's shadow falls on another, we see an eclipse.

  • Solar eclipse: Moon between Sun and Earth. Moon blocks sunlight; Moon's shadow on Earth.
  • Lunar eclipse: Earth between Sun and Moon. Earth blocks sunlight; Moon enters Earth's shadow.

Solar eclipses happen during new moon; lunar during full moon (but not every month because of orbital tilt).

Example
During a total solar eclipse, day briefly turns to dusk and you see the Sun's corona.
💡 Tip:Never look at a solar eclipse directly — use special filters. UV can damage eyes permanently.
Prefer a video? Open YouTube search for “solar lunar eclipse class 6

🎯 Try it!

5 questions to check what you just read.

0 / 5
  1. Q1.Solar eclipse: order (middle to extremes):
  2. Q2.Lunar eclipse: Earth is between:
  3. Q3.During a TOTAL solar eclipse, day looks like:
  4. Q4.Solar eclipses happen during:
  5. Q5.Never look at the Sun directly during a solar eclipse because: