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LIS Note Sheet 8-5

The document summarizes key phenomena associated with the solar system, including the phases of the moon and eclipses. It explains that the moon's phases are caused by changes in the amount of illumination visible from Earth as the moon orbits. There are eight distinct phases each month. Solar eclipses can only occur at new moon and involve the moon passing between the Earth and sun. There are three types of lunar eclipses - penumbral, partial, and total - which differ based on whether the moon passes through Earth's penumbral or umbral shadow.

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65 views6 pages

LIS Note Sheet 8-5

The document summarizes key phenomena associated with the solar system, including the phases of the moon and eclipses. It explains that the moon's phases are caused by changes in the amount of illumination visible from Earth as the moon orbits. There are eight distinct phases each month. Solar eclipses can only occur at new moon and involve the moon passing between the Earth and sun. There are three types of lunar eclipses - penumbral, partial, and total - which differ based on whether the moon passes through Earth's penumbral or umbral shadow.

Uploaded by

Pulan Kodagoda
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lexicon International School

Zoom online class note sheet


Science
Grade – 08
Unit 14
Phenomena and exploration associated with solar system

Occurrences of phases of moon

The Moon is a cold, rocky body about 2,160 miles (3,476 km) in diameter. It has no light of its own but
shines by sunlight reflected from its surface. The Moon orbits Earth about once every 29 .5 days. As it
circles our planet, the changing position of the Moon with respect to the Sun causes our natural satellite
to cycle through a series of phases:

New Moon > New Crescent > First Quarter > Waxing Gibbous > Full Moon >

Waning Gibbous > Last Quarter > Old Crescent > New Moon (again)

The phase known as New Moon cannot actually be seen because the illuminated side of the Moon is
then pointed away from Earth. The rest of the phases are familiar to all of us as the Moon cycles through
them month after month.

The moon's phases are caused by changes in the amount of illumination from the moon that is visible
from the Earth's surface as the moon orbits our planet each month. There are eight distinct phases
every month, four of them occurring roughly a week apart. Therefore we are able to observe different
shapes or phases of the moon.
Important incidents associated with solar system

Solar eclipses.

An eclipse of the Sun (or solar eclipse) can only occur at New Moon when the Moon passes between
Earth and Sun. If the Moon's shadow happens to fall upon Earth's surface at that time, we see some
portion of the Sun's disk covered or 'eclipsed' by the Moon. Since New Moon occurs every 29 1/2 days,
you might think that we should have a solar eclipse about once a month. Unfortunately, this doesn't
happen because the Moon's orbit around Earth is tilted 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. As a
result, the Moon's shadow usually misses Earth as it passes above or below our planet at New Moon. At
least twice a year, the geometry lines up just right so that some part of the Moon's shadow falls on
Earth's surface and an eclipse of the Sun is seen from that region.

The Moon's shadow actually has two parts:

1. Penumbra

The Moon's faint outer shadow.

Partial solar eclipses are visible from within the penumbral shadow.
2. Umbra

The Moon's dark inner shadow.

Total solar eclipses are visible from within the umbral shadow.

When the Moon's penumbral shadow strikes Earth, we see a partial eclipse of the Sun from that region.
Partial eclipses are dangerous to look at because the un-eclipsed part of the Sun is still very bright. You
must use special filters or a home-made pinhole projector to safely watch a partial eclipse of the Sun.
the maximum time duration that a point of earth experiences a total solar eclipse is 7.5 minutes.

Partial solar eclipse Total solar eclipse

 When we are observing solar eclipse with naked eye is harmful to vision of that particular
person. Therefore, we must need to eye covers or goggles. If you didn’t follow these instructions
it will cause to blindness of your eyes ever. It is really safer to watch the images of the solar
eclipse taken on to a screen using a mirror or a telescope.

Lunar eclipse

The moon revolves in an orbit around Earth, and at the same time, Earth revolves in an orbit of the sun.
Sometimes Earth moves between the sun and the moon. When this happens, Earth blocks the sunlight
that normally is reflected by the moon. (This sunlight is what causes the moon to shine.) Instead of light
incident to the moon’s surface, Earth's shadow falls on it. This is an eclipse of the moon which is known
as a lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse can occur only when the moon is full.
Astronomers recognize three basic types of lunar eclipses:

1. Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

The Moon passes through Earth's penumbral shadow.

These events are of only academic interest because they are subtle and hard to observe.
2. Partial Lunar Eclipse

A portion of the Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow.

These events are easy to see, even with the unaided eye.

3. Total Lunar Eclipse

The entire Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow.

These events are quite striking due to the Moon's vibrant red color during the total phase
(totality).

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