Eclipses LEVELED BOOK • V

Eclipses
A Reading A–Z Level V Leveled Book
Word Count: 1,589

Written by David L . Dreier

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Eclipses
Photo Credits:
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page 3: © REUTERS/Andrew Biraj; page 4: © Joe Petersburger/National
Geographic Stock; page 5: © REUTERS/David Gray; pages 7 (left), 9 (top left):
courtesy of ESA/NASA/SOHO; page 6: Signe Nordin/© Learning A–Z;
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7 (right), 9 (top right), 13 (bottom right): courtesy of NASA; page 8: © iStock.com/
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© Jim Craigmyle/Corbis; page 12: © Jay Pasachoff/Science Faction/Corbis;
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Leon Huens/National Geographic Stock; page 18: © Mohammed Zaatari/
AP Images; page 20: © REUTERS/Russell Boyce; page 21: © NASA–Hubble
Space Telescope/Science Faction/Corbis; pages 22, 23: © Larry Landolfi/Photo
Researchers, Inc.

Back cover: Composite photo of an annular solar eclipse over Franklin

Mountains State Park near El Paso, Texas

Title page: A total solar eclipse in the sky over the W. M. Keck Observatory
in Hawaii

Eclipses
Level V Leveled Book
Written by David L. Dreier © Learning A–Z Correlation
Written by David L. Dreier LEVEL V
Illustrated by Craig Frederick
Fountas & Pinnell R
All rights reserved. Reading Recovery 40
www.readinga-z.com www.readinga-z.com
DRA 40
 The Moon blocks part of the setting Sun during a solar eclipse.

Darkness at Noon or Midnight

A girl prepares to watch a solar eclipse in Bangladesh.
Imagine being outside on a sunny day at noon
Table of Contents and seeing the world become dark all around
Darkness at Noon or Midnight .............................. 4 you, even though there’s not a single cloud in
Eclipses in History ................................................... 5 the sky. Or imagine watching a full moon slowly
change from milky white to a spooky blood-red
Eclipses Are All About Shadows............................ 7
color. Strange events such as these happen during
Why the Moon Turns Red ....................................... 8 eclipses.
The Sun Blotted Out .............................................. 12
Eclipses are amazing events that have caused
Predicting Eclipses ................................................. 16
wonder, fear, and excitement throughout history.
How to View a Solar Eclipse Safely...................... 18 During a solar eclipse, the Moon blocks out
Conclusion............................................................... 21 the Sun. During a lunar eclipse, the Moon
Glossary.................................................................... 24 changes color as it passes through Earth’s shadow.

Eclipses • Level V 3 4
 Eclipses in History Some eclipses may even have changed the
Eclipses can be frightening events if you don’t course of history. One such event occurred in the
know what causes them. Long ago, people were Middle East in the sixth century bc. Two groups
afraid of eclipses and considered them to be of people, the Lydians and the Medes, had been
bad omens. People in ancient China thought the fighting a war for five years. On May 28, 585 bc,
Sun was being eaten by a dragon during a solar their armies were engaged in a fierce battle when
eclipse. They banged on drums and pots to scare suddenly a total eclipse turned day into night.
the dragon away. Some ancient people in Greece The armies were so frightened by the eclipse
thought there might be a connection between that they laid down their weapons and agreed to
earthquakes and eclipses. But there is no link make peace.
between the two events. Ancient peoples such as the Chinese, Greeks,
Babylonians, and Egyptians studied eclipses.
They eventually learned that eclipses were
natural events. There were no dragons or other
monsters involved. However, knowledge about
what really caused eclipses spread slowly.

A solar eclipse darkens the daytime sky over China.

Eclipses • Level V 5 6
 Why the Moon Turns Red
Earth
If Earth had no atmosphere, the Moon would
Moon go completely dark during a total lunar eclipse.
Earth’s But Earth does have an atmosphere, and light
Sun shadow
from the Sun passes through it. Most of that light
strikes Earth’s surface and is blocked. But some
light rays pass through the atmosphere without
Positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon during a lunar eclipse hitting the planet’s surface.

Eclipses Are All About Shadows

We now know that eclipses happen when
Earth, its moon, and the Sun line up in space. An
eclipse is nothing more than a really big shadow.
Just as you cast a shadow on the ground when
you stand outside on a sunny day, Earth and its
moon cast shadows in space.

What an eclipse looks like depends on where

you watch it from. If you were standing on the
surface of the Moon during a lunar eclipse, you
would see the Earth ringed by red light as it
blocked out the Sun. But from Earth, a lunar
eclipse looks much different. If you watch a lunar
eclipse from Earth, you will see the full moon
slowly go dark as it passes through Earth’s
shadow. That’s because the Moon is only bright
when it reflects the light of the Sun—something it Earth’s atmosphere filters and scatters some of the sunlight that
can’t do when Earth gets in the way. passes through it.

Eclipses • Level V 7 8
 Earth’s shadow
Earth

Sun Moon

Atmosphere Red light scattered by

Earth’s atmosphere
Some red light from the Sun bends as it passes through Earth’s
atmosphere and reaches the Moon, turning it red.

The Sun’s light is made up of many colors

that blend together to form white light. The
atmosphere absorbs most of
the blue light in the Sun’s
rays. But red light
passes through the
atmosphere and is
scattered before
passing back out
into space. Some of
that light strikes the
Moon and gives it a
spooky appearance.
The Moon usually turns A total lunar eclipse turns the
Moon a dramatic red color.
a reddish color, but it
can also be orange, yellow, or brown. The color
The Moon’s changing appearance during the course
depends on the amount of dust and clouds in of a lunar eclipse
Earth’s atmosphere.

Eclipses • Level V 9 10
 Total lunar eclipses happen fairly frequently.
There can be as many as three in a year. But in
some years, there are none. It all depends on the
changing positions of the Moon and Earth. And
because lunar eclipses are visible from the entire
side of Earth where it’s nighttime, you will
probably have many chances to see one near
where you live.

Lunar eclipses are perfectly safe to watch

and can be safely viewed through binoculars or
telescopes. The length of time that the Moon is in
full shadow during a total eclipse varies anywhere The hot gases of the Sun’s corona are easy to see when the Moon
from about thirty minutes to more than an hour. blocks out the Sun.

The Sun Blotted Out

The other type of eclipse is a solar eclipse.
During a solar eclipse, the positions of the Moon
and Earth are just the opposite of their positions
during a lunar eclipse. The Sun is about four
hundred times larger than the Moon, but it is also
about four hundred times as far away from Earth.
This happy coincidence of nature means that,
seen from Earth, the circular disk of the Moon
is just the right size to block out the Sun. When
the Moon blocks the light from the main part of
the Sun, the Sun’s outer part, called the corona,
becomes visible. The hot gases of the corona glow
A telescope can give you a great view of a lunar eclipse. brightly around the obscured disk of the Sun.

Eclipses • Level V 11 12
 During a solar eclipse, the Moon casts a double
shadow on Earth. People inside the dark center
shadow see a total eclipse, in which the entire disk
of the Sun is blocked for a short time. Inside the
lighter outer shadow, part of the Sun’s disk is still
visible during a partial eclipse. Beyond the lighter
shadow, people see no eclipse at all.

An annular eclipse creates a bright ring of light around the Moon.

Because the Moon’s orbit around Earth is not

a perfect circle, the Moon’s distance from Earth
changes. When the Moon is farther away, it
appears slightly smaller and does not completely
block out the Sun during an eclipse. The Sun’s
disk then forms a narrow ring around the Moon.
Path where total Dark shadow,
solar eclipse can area of total This is called an annular eclipse. Annular comes
be seen as it eclipse from the Latin word meaning “ring.”
moves across Earth
The length of a total solar eclipse varies from
one eclipse to another and also depends on where
you view it from. The longest time that people
Sunlight
Light shadow,
can see the Sun totally darkened is about seven
Earth area of partial eclipse Moon and a half minutes.

Eclipses • Level V 13 14
 People have far fewer chances to see solar Predicting Eclipses
eclipses than lunar eclipses. Solar eclipses happen Astronomers have tried to predict eclipses
in one form or another somewhere on Earth about since ancient times. Many astronomers in ages
once every eighteen months. However, many past kept careful records of eclipses. They learned
solar eclipses occur over open oceans or in the that eclipses happen in a long cycle. They also
polar regions, so very few people get to see them. studied how the Moon moves around Earth.
Also, because the Moon’s darker center shadow Their findings helped them predict lunar eclipses
on Earth is never more than 269 kilometers with some accuracy. But figuring out when solar
(167 mi) wide, the chance of your area being in eclipses would happen was much more difficult.
the path of a total eclipse is very small. Each
particular spot on Earth experiences a total solar By about 1,800 years ago, astronomers in
eclipse just once every 370 years, on average. For China and Greece had learned to predict solar
that reason, if you want to see a total solar eclipse, eclipses. One of
it is much better to travel to where you know one the most famous of
will happen than to wait for one to come to you. these astronomers
But how can you tell when and where the next was a Greek
solar eclipse will happen? named Ptolemy
(TAWL-uh-mee).
But Ptolemy and
other ancient
astronomers could
only predict a solar
eclipse to within
about a month.

Ptolemy was a famous

mathematician and
The Moon’s shadow can be seen from space as it passes across astronomer who lived
Earth’s surface during a solar eclipse. around ad 90 –168.

Eclipses • Level V 15 16
 The first scientist to accurately predict solar
eclipses was an English astronomer named
Edmond Halley. During his lifetime in the early
ad 1700s, people knew that Earth orbited the Sun.
Knowing the correct positions of the Sun, Earth,
and Moon made eclipse prediction simpler. But it
was still difficult.

Another English scientist, Isaac Newton, made

it easier to predict eclipses. Newton discovered
how objects in the solar system move. He
developed a very detailed theory of gravity.
Halley used Newton’s findings to calculate future
eclipses. By using computers programmed with
A shepherd boy and his goat watch a solar eclipse in Lebanon.
Newton’s laws of gravity, scientists can now
predict eclipses far into the future.
How to View a Solar Eclipse Safely
Once you’ve figured out where you need to be
to see a solar eclipse, your work is not quite done.
You need to take some steps to make sure you can
watch the eclipse safely because looking directly
at the Sun can damage your eyes. Normally, the
Sun is too bright to look at for very long, and pain
makes you look away. But during an eclipse, the
brightness dims, and it’s possible to look at the
Sun without feeling any pain, even while severely
damaging your eyes. For this reason, you should
Isaac Newton’s ideas about gravity and mathematics changed our
NEVER look directly at the Sun during an eclipse
understanding of the universe. or at any other time.

Eclipses • Level V 17 18
Pinhole Projector It also is possible to view a solar eclipse safely
Small image of Aluminum foil using special light filters, such as inexpensive
partially eclipsed Sun with pinhole
eclipse-viewing safety glasses. Even when using
these special glasses, you shouldn’t look at the
Sun for very long. Look for a few seconds and
then turn away for a few seconds. Be sure to use
these glasses only in the company of an adult.
Sunlight
You can’t be too careful when looking at the Sun.
Look through
hole cut in
side of box
to see eclipse
image
Point this end
toward Sun
Viewing White paper taped
window to inside end

The safest way to view a solar eclipse is

indirectly, using a pinhole projector. This simple
device focuses the Sun’s rays onto a flat surface,
where they can be viewed safely.

Warning
Do not view a solar eclipse with unprotected
eyes or regular sunglasses, and never look at a
solar eclipse with a telescope or binoculars.
Devices that magnify what you’re looking at
will also magnify the damage done to your
eyes. A crowd practices using protective glasses before an eclipse in the
United Kingdom in 1999.

Eclipses • Level V 19 20
A small moon casts a shadow on the surface of Jupiter as it orbits
the giant planet.

Conclusion
Eclipses are impressive cosmic events that
still inspire awe in people of all ages around the
world. Thanks to science, we now understand
the causes of eclipses and can predict them with
amazing accuracy. But eclipses will probably
always feel a little mysterious and magical to
those who watch them, just as they did to people This special photograph shows how the Moon looked every
five minutes during a lunar eclipse over upstate New York.
thousands of years ago.

Eclipses • Level V 21 22
 Glossary
accuracy (n.) the state or quality of being
precise, correct, or exact (p. 16)
astronomers (n.) scientists who study planets,
stars, galaxies, and other
objects in space (p. 16)
coincidence (n.) a situation in which similar or
related things happen at the
same time by accident (p. 12)
cosmic (adj.) of or relating to the space
beyond Earth (p. 21)
light filters (n.) transparent materials that block
light of certain wavelengths
(p. 20)
obscured (adj.) concealed or covered (p. 12)
omens (n.) events believed to be signs
about the future (p. 5)
orbited (v.) revolved around another object
(p. 17)
partial (adj.) of or relating to a part rather
than the whole (p. 13)
predict (v.) to say what is going to happen
in the future, based on the past
To learn more about eclipses and find out
or present (p. 16)
when you can view one in your area, go to
theory (n.) a possible explanation that has
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html. not been proven true (p. 17)

Eclipses • Level V 23 24