Today was a very special day. For the first time since 1999, Britain experienced a lunar eclipse. We found out that an eclipse is caused by the Moon, Earth and Sun being in line with other - the moon moves in front of the Sun and blocks the light from it.
Unlike 16 years ago, this one was a partial eclipse which meant that most of the sunlight was blocked but not all. We watched a live stream of the eclipse (filmed with a special camera) to see the Moon slowly move across the Sun.
We then went outside to see the effect of the eclipse for ourselves. Even though it was cloudy, we could tell that it was much colder than usual. We stood quietly and noticed that some of the birds started to settle and sing less. It also began to get darker. However, some sunlight was reflecting off the clouds which made it seem brighter than if it would have been a clear day.
When we came back in, we noticed that the Moon had moved across even more and the crescent shape of the Sun was now on the opposite side. We also began to notice strong light rays escaping around the moon's edge.
Our next partial eclipse won't be until 2026. We won't see another total eclipse until 2090! Can you work out how old you will be when that happens?
it was fun learning about the eclipse it didn't go as dark as a full eclipse but it was very quick
ReplyDeletethe birds went really quiet then loud at break from Melissa Granville