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Earth, Moon, and the Sun

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An eclipse is only a shadow. It needs the Sun, Earth and the Moon.

This track is about these three, and the shadows they make.

This is Chapter 12 in your NCERT book.

Its name is Earth, Moon, and the Sun.

What this track covers

  • Two motions at once. Earth spins. It also goes round the Sun.
  • The Moon's trip. One face of it always points at us.
  • Three in a line. One ball can shade another.
  • The Moon's shadow on Earth. It is a small dark patch.
  • Earth's shadow on the Moon. The same idea, with the order swapped.
  • Why not every month. The three are usually not in a line.
  • Watching safely. One eclipse is safe to watch. The other is not.
  • The Sun seems to move. Earth is turning.
  • Day here, night there. The east is lit first.
  • The Pole Star. One star stays still while the rest circle it.
  • The night sky through the year. Earth goes round the Sun.
  • The tilt and the seasons. Summer and winter come from the tilt.
  • Longest and shortest days. Two days a year: the longest, the shortest.

Need a quick catch-up?

Day and night is in Track Zero. Kinds of motion is in Measurement. The Moon is in Beyond Earth. Shadows are in Light.

One rule before anything else

Never look straight at the Sun. Not through sunglasses. Not through binoculars or a telescope. The safe ways are in this track.

Jump to lesson

This track

  1. 0 Start here
  2. 1 Earth is doing two things at once
  3. 2 The Moon keeps one face turned to us
  4. 3 When three line up, one shades another
  5. 4 The Moon shades a patch of Earth
  6. 5 Earth shades the Moon
  7. 6 Why it is not every month
  8. 7 One is safe to watch, the other never is
  9. 8 Checkpoint: motions, the Moon and eclipses
  10. 9 Why the Sun seems to move
  11. 10 Day here, night there
  12. 11 The star that stays still
  13. 12 Checkpoint: the turning sky
  14. 13 The night sky changes through the year
  15. 14 The tilt makes the seasons
  16. 15 The longest and shortest days
  17. 16 Checkpoint: the year, the tilt and the seasons
  18. 17 The big picture
  19. 18 Track quiz

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