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Create your own solar and lunar eclipse

Science Projects - Earth Science and Astronomy

Suitable For

Grade 3

Difficulty

1

Time Required

 <1 Hour

Supervision

Advised

What’s it about?

Eclipse means to overshadow something. A ‘solar eclipse’ is caused by the moon blocking light to the earth, while a ‘lunar eclipse’ is caused by the earth blocking light to the moon. In this science experiment, use a plastic ball and a lamp to create a simple ‘solar’ and ‘lunar’ eclipse:

Topics covered

Eclipse

What will I need?

  • PLASTIC BALL
  • STRING
  • STICKY TAPE
  • DESK LAMP

Procedure (Method)

Eclipse means to overshadow something. A ‘solar eclipse’ is caused by the moon blocking light to the earth, while a ‘lunar eclipse’ is caused by the earth blocking light to the moon. In this science experiment, use a plastic ball and a lamp to create a simple ‘solar’ and ‘lunar’ eclipse:

Science project diagram
  1. Attach a piece of string about 40cm in length to a plastic ball with some sticky tape.
  2. In a dark room of your house, use a desk lamp to create a directional light source.
  3. Face the lamp while holding and suspending the ball from the string in front of your body so that the ball is between you and the lamp.
  4. The lamp represents the sun and the ball the moon. Your body is the earth. When you are facing the lamp, the ball makes a shadow on your body. This is what happens during a ‘solar eclipse’.
  5. Observe how the light falls on the ball, turn your body together with the ball and watch how the light on the ball changes. Continue rotating around until you rotated 180 degrees so that your back is to the ‘sun’ and your body, ‘the earth’, blocks light to the ball ‘the moon’. During a ‘lunar eclipse’, the shadow of the Earth makes it seem as if the moon has been covered!

How does it work?

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in a direct line between the Earth and the sun. The moon’s shadow travels over the Earth’s surface and blocks out the sun’s light as seen from that specific region on the Earth.

A lunar eclipse occurs as the moon, during its orbit around earth, moves across the earth’s shadow. This shadow is divided into two sections, both of which take on a cone-like shape. The outer ring of the earth’s shadow, called the Penumbra, does contain some light, but it’s a very small amount. The inner cone is known as the Umbra and is completely dark. During the Eclipse, the moon will often appear to be a mix of red, brown and orange, and does not actually turn completely dark, due to some light getting refracted toward it by the Earth. In this science experiment, both events are created by using the lamp as the ‘sun’, the ball as the ‘moon’ and your body represents the earth.

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