An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when one celestial body passes into the shadow of another body or has another body pass between it and the viewer. There are two main types of eclipses that can be observed from Earth: lunar and solar.
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Lunar Eclipse: A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earths shadow. This happens when the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the sunlight that normally reflects off the Moon. Instead of light hitting the Moons surface, Earths shadow falls on the Moon.
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Solar Eclipse: A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is between the Sun and Earth, blocking the light of the Sun from reaching Earth. During a solar eclipse, the Moon casts a shadow onto Earth. There are three main types of solar eclipses:
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Total Solar Eclipse: A total solar eclipse is visible from a small area on Earth. The sky becomes very dark, as if it were night. For a total eclipse to occur, the Sun, Moon, and Earth must be in a direct line.
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Partial Solar Eclipse: This happens when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are not exactly aligned. The Sun appears to have a dark shadow on a small part of its surface.
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Annular Solar Eclipse: An annular eclipse happens when the Moon is farthest from Earth. Because the Moon is farther away, it seems smaller and does not block the entire view of the Sun. The Moon in front of the Sun looks like a dark disk on top of a larger Sun-colored disk.
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Eclipses can also occur beyond the Earth-Moon system, such as when a planet moves into the shadow cast by one of its moons or when a moon passes into the shadow of another moon. In mythology, eclipses were often understood to be a variation of a spiritual battle between the sun and evil forces or spirits of darkness.
