ASTRON 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium, The Moons, Angular Diameter
4 Aug 2018
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Document Summary
When the moon"s shadow falls on earth it"s a solar eclipse. When the earth"s shadow falls on the moon it"s a lunar eclipse. The moon during a solar eclipse: new moon , the moon during a lunar eclipse: The moon is red in a full eclipse because some light is bent by earth"s full moon atmosphere into shadow. Since the moon is usually larger than the sun (angular size), if it passes directly in front, it will cause a total eclipse. When the moon doesn"t cover the sun completely, it"s a partial eclipse. When the moon is too small but passes directly in front, it"s an annular eclipse. The moon"s orbit is tilted about 5 degrees to the ecliptic. Because the tilt of the moon"s orbit maintains the same orientation in space, eclipses occur during the two month-long periods, about 6 months apart. Eclipses happen all the time, but only in populated areas.
