Catch the next eclipse for a sky show
You wanted to know
Nathan Roys, 11, of Mundelein wanted to know:
Can one planet make an eclipse for another planet?
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For more information
To learn more about eclipses, Cook Memorial Public Library in Libertyville suggests the following.
– “Someone is Eating the Sun” by Ruth Sonneborn.
– “The Day My Dogs Became Guys” by Merrill Markoe.
– “What is an Eclipse?” by Isaac Asimov.
– “Eclipses: Nature’s Blackouts” by Billy Aronson.
– “The Young Astronomer” by Harry Ford.
– “Cosmic Light Shows” by Bobbie Kalman.
“Can one planet make an eclipse for another planet?” asked Nathan Roys, 11, a home-schooled fifth-grader from Mundelein.
“It depends on what you mean by eclipse,” said Geza Gyuk, an astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.
Generally, when an astronomical body blocks the light of the sun from all or some part of another body, it’s called an eclipse.
These events were shocking and upsetting to people during ancient times. The Chinese believed a solar eclipse to be a dragon swallowing the sun, so they excitedly beat drums to chase the dragon away. A solar eclipse brought peace to two armies in 585 B.C. During a battle, the warriors saw the eclipse and laid down their arms.
On Nov. 8, at around 7 p.m., the Earth will begin to block the sun’s light from reaching the moon. That’s a lunar eclipse. While the moon doesn’t disappear altogether, it might appear as a shadowy outline or have a red cast. The visible shadow that replaces the moon or the sun is called the umbra. Check the Adler Planetarium’s Web site at www.adlerplanetarium.org for events and updates on the eclipse.
There are also solar eclipses, when the moon blocks the sun’s light from reaching part of Earth. Solar eclipses last anywhere from a few minutes to as much as half an hour. Usually they can be seen over a portion of the Earth. The next solar eclipse will occur on Nov. 23, but will only be visible in Antarctica. It’ll be another 14 years before a really good opportunity to see a solar eclipse will occur in North America.
In addition to eclipses, there are transits and occultations. A transit is when a planet moves between Earth and the sun, blocking some of the light. The extreme distance between the Earth and other planets makes them appear quite small, so when transits occur, only a tiny part of the light of the sun is blocked and it is barely noticeable.
“Only two other planets, Mercury and Venus, can move in front of the sun from the view point of the Earth,” Gyuk said. “That’s because only Mercury and Venus are closer to the sun than the Earth is. The other planets, Mars on outward, can never get between the Earth and the sun.”
In May, Mercury transited the sun. Next year in June, Venus will transit the sun.
The other planets also can transit the sun, but that would not be visible on Earth.
A much rarer event is an occultation. That’s when one planet rotates in front of another planet in our skies. The next one that we’ll be able to witness will occur in 2079, when Mercury swings in front of Mars. For a brief period, it will look like the two planets have become one.
Gyuk also mentioned a possible astronomical explanation for the vision of a bright star that is said to have heralded the birth of Jesus.
“In 2 B.C., a really beautiful occultation involving Jupiter and Venus, the two brightest planets, would have been seen in the Middle East. Some have speculated that this event might have been the basis for the star of Bethlehem legend.
“Maybe, but it is really hard to tell, and who knows?” Gyuk said.
Gyuk recommends this Web site for information on eclipses: sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html.