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Exploring Eclipses by Cris DeWolf

An illustration shows the Sun on the left, Earth on the right, and the Moon in between them. Above the Sun are the words "Geometry of an Annular Solar Eclipse." Dashed lines, representing light rays, extend from the Sun toward the Moon. To the right of the Moon, a gray cone-shaped shadow extends from the Moon toward Earth but does not quite reach Earth. The large end of this cone is on the left, at the Moon, and it narrows to a point on the right, near Earth. This shadow is labeled "umbra." Extending from the end of the umbra is a smaller gray cone that reaches all the way to Earth. The small tip of the cone is on the left, touching the small end of the umbra, and the large end of the cone is on the right, touching a small region on Earth. This smaller gray cone is labeled "antumbra." The umbra and antumbra appear inside a larger, light blue cone extending from the Moon to Earth, which does reach Earth. The cone starts small on the left, where it touches the Moon, and gets larger toward the right, where it covers a large area of the Sun-facing side of Earth. This cone is labeled "penumbra."
During an annular eclipse, the Moon’s inner shadow cone (the “umbra”) does not reach Earth’s surface. Observers in the “antumbra” will see a ring of sunlight around the Moon. Diagram is not to scale.
NASA
Levels
  • Advanced (9-12+)
Material Type
  • Activity/Hands-on
Heliophysics Big Ideas
  • Big Idea 1.1 – The Sun is really big…
NGSS
  • ESS1 - Earth's Place in the Universe
Heliophysics Topics
  • Lunar Eclipse
  • Solar Eclipse
  • Sun
Heliophysics Missions
  • Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
  • Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
Material Cost per Learner Free
Language English

Students build models to investigate where the Earth & moon are in relation to each other during annular and total solar eclipses and explain where the moon is during eclipse.

Learn more at: https://outreach.gi.alaska.edu/nasa-heliophysics/heliophysics/exploring-eclipses-cris-dewolf