Skip to content
Dabour HubLEARN · PRACTICE · EXPLORESign inStudent

5.5Unit 6: Sound, the Earth and eclipses

Solar and lunar eclipses — Cambridge Checkpoint Earth & Space 0893 Revision Notes & Topical Questions

5 min read 11 parts Lesson 5 of 5 1 quiz

📚 Cambridge Checkpoint Earth & Space 0893 Hub / Topical Revision
🩺
100% Curriculum Specification Match Lesson Doctor Verified
The only platform with 100% curriculum specification match and verified interactive question banks.
0%read
Lesson summary

5.5 Solar and lunar eclipses — CHECKPOINT EARTH AND SPACE 0893 notes: Explain how shadows form and how solar and lunar eclipses happen.Opaque = not allowing light to pass throughFormation — an opaque object blocks light rays and leaves a dark shadowLight rays — light travels in s…

  • Surroundings
  • Solar eclipse
  • Total and partial
  • Orbit time
  • White ball
  • Tennis ball

Section 1 of 11Shadows

Opaque
Opaque not allowing light to pass through
Formation
  • Formation an opaque object blocks light rays and leaves a dark shadow
Light rays
  • Light rays light travels in straight lines called rays
Surroundings
  • Surroundings areas around the shadow are brighter because light reaches them

Section 2 of 11Solar eclipse

Solar eclipse
Solar eclipse the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth
Blocking
  • Blocking the Moon is made of rock, so it is opaque and blocks the Sun's light rays
Shadow
  • Shadow the Moon's shadow forms on the Earth
Daytime
  • Daytime a solar eclipse can only be seen in the daytime

Section 3 of 11Total and partial solar eclipses

Total and partial solar eclipses
Total
  • Total people in the middle of the Moon's shadow see all of the Sun's light blocked
Partial
  • Partial away from the middle some rays still reach the Earth
Safety
  • Safety never look directly at the Sun, even during an eclipse, because it can permanently damage the eyes

Section 4 of 11Lunar eclipse

Lunar eclipse
Lunar eclipse
Lunar eclipse the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon
Blocking
  • Blocking the Earth is opaque and blocks light from the Sun
Shadow
  • Shadow the Earth's shadow forms on the Moon
Total and partial
  • Total and partial a total lunar eclipse happens when the whole Moon is in the shadow and a partial one when only part is

Section 5 of 11Why eclipses are not monthly

1Orbit time
  • Orbit time the Moon takes about 28 days to orbit the Earth
2Tilt
  • Tilt the Moon's orbit is tilted slightly from the plane of the Earth's orbit
3Condition
  • Condition eclipses happen only when the Sun, Earth and Moon are in the same straight line

Section 6 of 11Comparing eclipses

Solar eclipseLunar eclipse
Object in the middleMoonEarth
Shadow falls onEarthMoon
Sun, Moon, Earth orderSun, Moon, EarthSun, Earth, Moon
Seen fromPart of the daytime side of EarthAnywhere the Moon is above the horizon

Section 7 of 11Classroom model of eclipses

Lamp
  • Lamp it represents the Sun
White ball
  • White ball it represents the Earth, with a lit side as day and a dark side as night
Tennis ball
  • Tennis ball it represents the Moon
Solar eclipse
  • Solar eclipse moving the Moon between the lamp and the Earth puts the Moon's shadow on the Earth
Lunar eclipse
  • Lunar eclipse moving the Moon into the shadow of the Earth shows a lunar eclipse

Section 8 of 11Predicting eclipses

Early astronomers
  • Early astronomers about 3000 years ago astronomers in the Middle East made the earliest known predictions of eclipses
Pattern
  • Pattern solar eclipses repeat after every 223 lunar months, and one lunar month is 29.5 days
Method
  • Method a pattern of observations is used to make predictions
Past eclipses
  • Past eclipses modern calculations of past eclipses date events such as a battle in Greece in 585 BCE

Section 9 of 11More from the specification

More from the specification
Ray tracing geometrical eclipse model
  • Ray tracing geometrical eclipse model constructing straight light ray paths around Moon and Earth illustrates a predictive geometrical shadow model.
Solar eclipse conditions
  • Occurs during the new moon phase when the Moon aligns directly between Earth and Sun, casting its shadow upon Earth's surface.
Lunar eclipse conditions
  • Occurs during the full moon phase when Earth moves directly between Sun and Moon, casting Earth's shadow across the lunar disc.
Umbral and penumbral shadows
  • The umbra is the darkest core where sunlight is totally blocked;
    • the penumbra experiences partial illumination.
Scales and angles in astronomy
  • Although the Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun, it is 400 times closer to Earth, so both appear almost identical in angular diameter.

Section 10 of 11Key terms

TermMeaning
OpaqueNot allowing light to pass through.
ShadowDark area where light is blocked.
Solar eclipseThe Moon blocks light from the Sun to Earth.
Lunar eclipseThe Earth blocks light from the Sun to the Moon.
TotalWhole of the light is blocked.
PartialOnly part of the light is blocked.
RayA straight line along which light travels.

Section 11 of 11Exam technique

1
Thinking an eclipse is a different kind of light from the Sun — it is a shadow of the Moon or Earth.
2
Mixing up solar and lunar eclipses — in a solar eclipse the Moon is in the middle, in a lunar eclipse the Earth is.
3
Thinking eclipses happen every month — the Moon's orbit is tilted so they are rare.
4
Looking at the Sun during an eclipse — it damages the eyes permanently.

Last updated: