Earth Moon and Sun Interactions

1. Earth Moon and Sun Interactions Tides Questions Solar eclipses Moon Phases Lunar Eclipses Why we have seasons.

2. Tides Home You probably know about the tides, or how far the waves go up the beach. What you might not know is that the tides are controlled by the moon. The moon’s gravity, being the closest major gravitational source, pulls the Earth’s waters. It does this because during high tide, you can see the moon, but during low tide, you cannot (because it pins the water closer to the Earth.) So as the Earth rotates, the water moves too. This changes its position relative to the moon.

3. Solar Eclipses home Solar eclipses are times when the moon completely blocks out the sun. Total solar eclipses only occur about once every nine years. Partial solar eclipses, on the other hand, happen more often. They are when the moon partially blocks out the sun. The difference is when a part of the Earth is in the moon’s umbra, or darkest shadow, it is the total solar eclipse. The part of the Earth in the penumbra, or lightest shadow, it is a partial solar eclipse. A solar eclipse only occurs because the moon is much closer to the Earth than the Sun, not much bigger (in fact it is less than one thousandth of the sun’s size.) A solar eclipse is the only time on Earth when you can see stars behind the sun, for the entire photosphere is blocked, you can only see the corona. A solar eclipse will always occur at day.

4. Lunar Eclipses home A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. It is known as a red moon because it appears red. They only happen once every year. A lunar eclipse May only occur in the umbra of the Earth, Which is much larger than the moon’s, making lunar eclipses much more frequent than solar eclipses. A lunar eclipse will always occur at night.

5. Phases of the Moon Home If you look up at night, you will most likely notice that the moon is not a perfect sphere. It is usually obscured on one side. This is called a phase of the moon. First, you must know that the moon does not produce light on its own. What you see is light reflected from the sun. Also, when someone refers to the “Dark Side of the Moon,” they are not referring to the section you see as dark, but the section that you will never see from Earth (because of the moon’s geosynchronous, or rotating at the exact same rate as it revolves, orbit.) Moon phases exist because of the light and dark sections that you see.

6. Why we have seasons. First Slide The earth tilts at 23.5 degrees. The sun’s rays hit the Earth and give it heat. The most direct rays hit the Earth at the closest point to the Sun. As the Earth revolves, its angle does not change. That way, we have the most direct rays hitting different places. So in the summer for us, the Earth is leaning toward the Sun if the North is on top. It is the opposite in the south. Equinoxes occur when the most direct rays of the Sun are at the Equator.

7. answers Question Slide • When it is the autumnal equinox here, where is the sun shining directly over? • If you can see a total solar eclipse , what tide is it? • If you can see a lunar eclipse, what tide is it? • If the earth is 23.5 degrees tilted, what is the farthest north the sun will shine directly over?

8. Answers • The equator • High tide • Low tide • 23.5 degrees (tropic of cancer)