Have you ever wondered how
even though the Sun is so much
bigger than the Moon
they appear to be the same size in the sky?
Or how the Moon can cover up
the Sun and cause a total solar eclipse?
Let's try something out.
Take any two
differently sized circles.
I'm using a paper plate
and a coin I found.
Secure the larger circle
either by having a friend hold onto it for you
or by using a little bit of tape.
Now what you're going to want to do
is take the smaller circle
and hold it at arm's length
and close one eye.
See if it overlaps the larger circle.
If it doesn't,
take a few more steps back and try again
until the smaller circle
completely overlaps the larger circle.
What we found here is the spot
where the smaller object appears to look
the same size as the bigger object
despite being completely different sizes
Even though the Moon is about 400 times smaller than the Sun,
it's also 400 times closer to us.
So when both the Sun and the Moon appear in our sky
the Moon can completely cover up the Sun
and cause a total solar eclipse!
Try this at home
and see if you can find the point where
objects appear to be the same size
despite being completely different.
Eclipses are all about perspective and distances.
The distance and angle of the moon
can vary throughout the year
so sometimes instead of a total solar eclipse,
we can get a partial solar eclipse
when the moon only covers part of the Sun
or an annular solar eclipse
when the Sun peeks out around the Moon
so that it looks like a big ring of fire.
Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time.