Eclipses:Eclipses:The Ring of FireThe Ring of Fire

Created by Joslyn Wang

& Kathryn Schroeder

Table of ContentsTable of Contents

1. Title Page

2. Table of Contents

3. Background Info

4. Lunar Eclipses

5. Solar Eclipses

6. The Ring of Fire

7. Bibliography

Background InformationBackground Information“Eclipse” Definition:

• The partial or complete obscuration of the light from one celestial body, because another celestial body is covering it.

Lunar Eclipse:• When the Moon passes directly behind the Earth

into its umbra. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned respectively.

Solar Eclipse:• When the Moon passes between the Sun and

Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun.

NASA Links:

• http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/eclipse/index.html

(NASA’s website page about eclipses in general)

• http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/2013-annular.html

(NASA’s website page about the solar eclipse on May 10th, 2013)

Lunar EclipsesLunar Eclipses• Occurs when Earth blocks the usual sunlight

reflected by the Moon

• Can be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth

• Lasts for a few hours, due to the smaller size of the moon's shadow

• Needs to be a Full Moon for Total Lunar Eclipse

• In the Umbra (the shadow of Earth casted onto the moon)

Lunar Eclipses:Lunar Eclipses:• A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours,

because of the smaller size of the moon's shadow. (total solar eclipse lasts for only minutes)

• Lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye protection or special precautions, as they are even dimmer than the actual full moon.

Lunar EclipsesLunar Eclipses

Solar Eclipses

• A solar eclipse is when the moon passes the sun, casting a shadow on Earth

• It only occurs during new moon phase (when moon moves to the side of earth facing the sun)

• The sun and moon may seem the same size but the distance between the moon and earth is a lot closer to the sun so it looks as though the moon is bigger than usual

• Distance between the earth and the moon is 400x closer than the sun and earth, and the diameter of the sun is 400x bigger than the moon

Solar Eclipses• 3 types of solar eclipses:

1. Partial solar eclipse: When the moon covers the sun but not fully.

2.  Annular solar eclipse: When the moon seems smaller than the sun (not fully covering) because the moon is either farther from earth or the sun is closer to earth (also known as THE RING OF FIRE)

3. Total solar eclipse: When the moon completely covers the sun leaving the faint solar corona visible

• Annular solar eclipses occur because the moon orbits an elliptical path making the moon different sizes as its distance from Earth changes. This change in size makes the moon smaller than the sun

• Partial solar eclipses happen because the moon is not correctly aligned between the sun and earth (showing only a part of the solar eclipse)

Solar Eclipse Facts• A solar eclipse is when the Moon completely

covers the Sun so only the solar corona can be seen, it is called a Totality

• The Moon moves across  the Sun at 2,250 km per hour

• Only partial solar eclipses can be seen from the North and South Poles

• The width of the path of totality is at most 269 km wide

• Almost identical eclipses occur after 18 years and 11 days, this is known as the Saros Cycle

• The longest duration for a total solar eclipse is 7.5 minutes.

Solar Eclipse Facts

• The maximum number of solar eclipses (partial, annular, or total) is 5 per year.

• There are at least 2 solar eclipses per year on Earth• Total solar eclipses happen every 1.5 years• Solar eclipses are only possible on Earth (because

of the moon’s diameter and its distance from Earth)• Because total and partial eclipses are visible from

such a small area on Earth each time they occur, the chance of observing a total eclipse from any single spot is less than once in a lifetime :O

THE RING OF FIRE• The Ring of Fire: May 9, 2013- Northern

Australia• Only a very few people could see the ring of

fire• This was the second visible solar eclipse within

6 months seen from northern Australia• It was an annular solar eclipse• It casted a 120-mile shadow across the sky in

Western Australia (at its peak)• Lasted about 3-6 minutes (depending where it

was viewed from)• covered about 95% of the sun

THE RING OF FIRE• Wasn’t as important as the other solar eclipse

before because the moon was too far away from Earth, not fully covering the sun

• The solar eclipse before this one was a total solar eclipse

• “A total eclipse is overall far more spectacular, far more emotional," –Andrew Jacob (Astronomer at Sydney observatory)

• Indonesia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, and other parts of Australia saw a partial solar eclipse

• was NOT visible from North America• Some people in Hawaii could see a very small part

of the eclipse, but no other state could see it.

BibliographyFor Information:• “Solar Eclipse Facts” Space Facts <http://space-facts.com/solar-eclipse/>

Web. 10 May 2013• “Amazing Facts” NASA <http://eclipse99.nasa.gov/pages/amazing.html >

Web. 10 May 2013• Espenak, Fred “Solar Eclipse” NASA 31 July 2013 <http://

eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html> Web. 10 May 2013• Espenak, Fred “Solar Eclipses for Beginners” mreclipse 2009 <http://

www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html> Web. 10 May 2013• “Solar Eclipses” National Geographic <

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/solar-eclipse-article/> Web. 10 May 2013

• Gelineau, Kristen “Ring of Fire' solar eclipse puts on a dazzling show in Australian Outback” NBC News 10 May 2013 < http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/09/18158197-ring-of-fire-solar-eclipse-puts-on-a-dazzling-show-in-australian-outback?lite> 10 May 2013

• Wall, Mike “Moon's Shadow During Solar Eclipse Spotted On Earth's Surface” Huffington Post 10 May 2013 < http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/11/moons-shadow-during-solar_n_3254764.html> 10 May 2013

• “Solar Eclipses:” SEMS University of North Dakota <http://www.sems.und.edu/index_SolarEclipse.php> Web. 10 May 2013

BibliographyFor Pictures:• “Ring of Fire Eclipse: 2012” Photoparsi <

http://www.photoparsi.com/5/556-ring-of-fire-eclipse> Web. 10 May 2013• Espenak, Fred “Solar Eclipses for Beginners” mreclipse 2009

<http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html> Web. 10 May 2013• “Total Solar Eclipse - November 14, 2012 Cairns, Australia” Blog Spot 14

Nov. 2012 <http://camilla-corona-sdo.blogspot.com/2012/11/total-solar-eclipse-november-14-2012.html> Web. 10 May 2013

• “How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse” Nikon USA 21 June 2001 < http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Learn-And-Explore/Article/h20zakgu/How-to-Photograph-a-Solar-Eclipse.html> Web. 10 May 2013

• Schroeder, Stan “Spectacular 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse” Mashable 21 May 2012 <http://mashable.com/2012/05/21/solar-eclipse-video/> Web. 10 May 2013