Comment due April 7
You may have heard that we will have a solar eclipse in the afternoon on Monday, April 8. Solar eclipses don’t happen all that often, so this is pretty special. While New York City is outside the path of totality (where the moon will totally block the sun), we still can expect the moon to cover about 90% of the sun.
It is very important never to look at the sun during a solar eclipse… doing so can severely damage your eyesight!
In anticipation of the solar eclipse, you’ll complete a short activity to help you understand the geometry of solar eclipses.
Watch the short animation above and the two short videos linked here. Then on your own piece of paper, set up and complete the three tables in the Modeling an eclipse section here. You’ll need:
- 1 sheet of 8.5 x 11 graph paper
- 2 disks approximately the size of a quarter, one to represent the Sun and one to represent the Moon at perigee
- One disk approximately the size of a nickel, to represent the Moon at apogee
- Pencil
- Ruler
After you have completed the activity, record your results in a comment below (state at which points (si, mj) where a total or partial solar eclipse occurs). Then include answers to reflection questions like:
- Have you ever completed an activity to understand solar eclipses before? Did this activity help you understand why we sometimes have solar eclipses and sometimes don’t?
- Are you familiar with the difference between solar eclipses and lunar eclipses?
- Do you plan to try to see the eclipse on April 8? Do you have a plan to protect your eyes?
- Do you have any funny or interesting stories about seeing an eclipse?
- Can you imagine what it would be like for a person living in an ancient civilization to experience a solar eclipse? How do you think they would have felt?
From the activity, I found that the total solar eclipse occurs only at (s3,m3) at perigee moon. Partical solar eclipses occur at (s2,m2), (s4,m4) for both perigee and agopee moon, (s3,m3) for agopee moon, and (s1,m2), (s2,m3), (s3,m4), (s4,m5) for perigee moon.
I haven’t did such activity about solar eclipse before, so this activity help me understand that a total solar eclipse won’t occurs often. I know the different between a solar eclipse and lunar eclipse, which a solar eclipse is the moon in beteen the sun and the earth, while a lunar eclipse it the earth in between the sun and the moon. I may gonna miss the solar sclipse in April 8 because I have class schedule for the whole day, and I don’t have the eye protection I have only sunglasses.
When recording the graph, moon path crosses the sun path at s3 and m3. Partial solar eclipses occur mat m2 and m4 when the sun paths are s2 and s4 respectively.
I have not done such activity before, however by watching tutorial videos I was able to fill out the above graph by NASA. Although I had known how solar eclipse worked, this activity helped me see it geometrically. Lunar and Solar eclipses are the difference of either Earth or Moon blocking each other from Sun. This year I went to see solar eclipse, I had purchases the classes not only for me but for my friends as well. We went to a park with friends in the city where a lot of people gathered to see the eclipse. Right after I had to run for my next class.
I have discovered that the eclipse happens at (s3,m3). I’ve never done such a unique activity before but this has helped me learn more about the solar eclipse. I’ve also learned that the lunar eclipse is where we are between the moon and the sun and the moon gets covered in the earth’s shadow! Quite a cool phenomenon. I did not have eye protection but I did still experience the world going dark. It was a very wonderful experience. If only it happened more often
I haven’t done an activity like this before. This activity helped me understand that the occurrence of solar eclipses depends on the alignment of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. It clarified why total solar eclipses are rare and why partial or no eclipses occur based on the Moon’s position in its orbit and the timing of its alignment with the Sun and Earth. I am now familiar with the difference. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth, casting a shadow on the Earth. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon, causing the Earth’s shadow to fall on the Moon. For someone in an ancient civilization, experiencing a solar eclipse would likely be a terrifying event. Without a scientific understanding of eclipses, they might have thought it as a sign from the gods.
Based on the graph, the eclipse occurs at (s3,m3), while partial eclipses occur at (s2,m2) and (s4,m4).
1. I have not completed an activity to understand solar eclipses before. The activity did help me understand why we sometimes have solar eclipses and sometimes don’t.
2. Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, causing the Earth’s shadow to fall on the Moon’s surface. Solar eclipses occur when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking the Sun’s light from reaching the Earth.
I have never done an activity to understand solar eclipses but this has been helpful. Visualizing that different variables produce different types of eclipse makes you appreciate when the real thing happens. I feel like I can explain now why a total eclipse is happening based on the finding of the first iteration of the exercise where the sun and the moon met at s3, m3 respectively, or when the moon met partially in the same spot just because there is a timing mismatch.