Space Place... in a Snap! Whoa! It's the
middle of the day, so why is the sky
getting dark? It's a solar eclipse. A
solar eclipse happens when at just the
right moment the moon passes between the sun and Earth. Sometimes the moon only
blocks part of the sun's light. This is
called a partial solar eclipse. Other times
the moon blocks all of the sun's light.
This is called a total solar eclipse. As
the moon blocks the sun's light, it casts
a shadow on part of the Earth. The moon's
shadow creates a trail as the Earth
rotates. This trail is called the path of
totality. If you want to experience total
darkness during an eclipse, you have to
be in the path of totality. In that path the
moon completely blocks the sun's light
for a few minutes. It gets so dark that it
looks like night time during a full moon.
If you don't know what's happening it
can be confusing. Animals can get
confused too. But this total darkness can
also be kind of cool for scientists who
study the sun's atmosphere called the
corona. The corona is very dim. It's
usually hard to see because the sun is
so much brighter, but when the moon
blocks the sun's light during an eclipse
all you can see is the light from the
corona. Total solar eclipses over the
land where people can see them don't
happen very often, but when they do
happen the moon gives scientists and the
rest of us a glimpse at the corona's
beautiful streams and ribbons. Thanks moon!
Find out more about the sun at NASA
Space Place!
