Imagine tha
t you’re outs
ide
somewhere
a n d s u d de n
ly
the sun
starts to dis
appear! As th
e skies
darken, bird
s begin to fl
y
for cover
and it feels
colder. It so
u
nds a bit
scary but yo
u’re in for a
treat. An
eclipse is a
very rare ev
e
nt where
the moon tr
avels in fron
t
of the
sun. It block
s it from yo
u
r sight,
either partly
or complete
ly.
America is th
e lucky coun
try that
experiences
a total eclip
se this
summer, on
21st August.
Total
means it co
mpletely dis
appears
for a couple
of minutes.
and on the
If you were able to st
rth, you would
moon and look at Ea
of it. This is
see a shadow on part
the moon,
the shadow caused by
tonishing speed
and it moves at an as
rface – faster
across our planet’s su
your torch on
than you might shine
hen it’s time
your favourite book w
!
for bedtime lights off
The sun’s co
rona
(Picture by
Exploratoriu
m)
HOW A TOTAL ECLIPSE
HAPPENS
to
The moon takes about 29 days
is
travel around the Earth, which
nth.
why we get a full moon every mo
n
The moon is a lot closer to us tha
the sun is. Sometimes the moon
en
happens to get in the way betwe
t
the sun and the Earth. When tha
is
happens, some light from the sun
reach
blocked by the moon and can’t
ss.
us. That causes daytime darkne
People on Earth who
are in that
shadow get to see th
e awesome
moment where the su
n is completely
blocked out. It’s calle
d totality. But
that doesn’t mean th
ere’s nothing to
see. A total eclipse is
the only time
we get to see the hidd
en outer part
of the sun’s atmosph
ere. It’s called
the corona, and it glow
s white in
diff erent shapes arou
nd the sun.
Sometimes scientist
s are able to
spot solar flares as w
ell. These are
fires coming off the su
n’s surface
that reach thousand
s of miles high
into space.
SPARK
17