Tag: movement of the earth's plates

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra (shadow). This can occur only when the sun, Earth, and moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can occur only the night of a full moon. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its orbital nodes.

A total lunar eclipse has the direct sunlight completely blocked by the earth's shadow. The only light seen is refracted through the earth's shadow. This light looks red for the same reason that the sunset looks red. Because of its reddish color, a total lunar eclipse is sometimes called a blood moon.

D. The tilt of the earth's axis of rotation

Seasons happen because Earth's axis is tilted at an angle of about 23.4 degrees and different parts of Earth receive more solar energy than others. Because of Earth's axial tilt (obliquity), our planet orbits the Sun on a slant which means different areas of Earth point toward or away from the Sun at different times of the year. Around the June solstice, the North Pole is tilted toward the Sun and the Northern Hemisphere gets more of the Sun's direct rays. This is why June, July and August are summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. At the same time, the Southern Hemisphere points away from the Sun, creating winter during the months of June, July and August. Summer in the Southern Hemisphere is in December, January, and February, when the South Pole is tilted toward the Sun and the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away.

Apollo 11 blasted off on July 16, 1969. Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts on Apollo 11.

Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. They landed on the moon in the Lunar Module. It was called the Eagle. Collins stayed in orbit around the moon. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the moon.

Neil Alden Armstrong was an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also an aerospace engineer, naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.

Solar eclipses are dangerous because the sun can come out from behind the moon and surprise you before you have a chance to look away. And this is actually even worse than when you normally look away from the sun because during the total eclipse, it is dark out, and your pupil therefore dialates so that it can let in enough light to get a good picture. Then, when the sun reappears and starts flooding the area with really bright light, not only are you staring straight at it, but your eye is in a state where it is wide open, and actively trying to let in as much light as possible.

This explains why it is easy to damage your eye when watching a total solar eclipse, and why you should either be sure to time it very carefully or just view the thing through one of those sets of cheap dark glasses they sell for the express purpose of looking at the sun without getting hurt.