3 The Eclipse

LESSON

Explorer’s Guide:

ECL IPSE
FACTS AND
HIGHLIGHTS 3

COURSE
LESSON
Greetings
Space Explorers!
About NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is
America’s civil space program and the global leader in space
exploration.

NASA studies the Earth and its climate, as well as the Sun, solar
system, and beyond. They conduct research, testing, and develops and
funds space technologies that will both enable future exploration and
benefit life on Earth.
Navigating 12

MINUTES
An estimate of how long the
activity may take.

the lesson Time to pause and have a

GROUP
CHAT
discussion with the class.

Look out for these badges throughout the lesson

and use it as your trusty learning guide to ensure
that you have enough time to learn, discuss, Put your newfound

PRACTICE
TIME
practice, and reflect on your newfound knowledge into practice in
knowledge.
the real world.
 In this session, you will...

1 2 3
Learn about why we Discover what we can Find out all about the
observe Solar and Lunar learn from eclipses different eclipse events
Eclipses
Strap in, we’re about
to take off!
WHY DO WE
OBSERVE
ECLIPSES?
 Reasons why scientists observe solar
eclipses
Scientists study the corona--a The Sun is a big star that gives us
part of the Sun’s atmosphere-- light and heat. It also sends out
during total solar eclipses to something called "solar wind"
learn how the Sun's heat and which can affect our technology
energy move into space and what (like phones & computers) and
it does to our Earth. people who go to space.

Total solar eclipses are especially Scientists want to know how the
important because they allow solar wind starts so they can be
scientists to see the corona that’s ready for any problems it might
too faint to see except when the cause.
bright light of the Sun is blocked.

1 2
Image Credit: NASA/ESA/Proba-2 Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory
 Reasons why scientists observe solar
eclipses
During a solar eclipse, scientists
can study Earth's atmosphere in a
special way, because only a small
part of it is blocked by the Moon.
Scientists use instruments called
coronagraphs to block the Sun’s
light in a manner similar to a total
eclipse, but these instruments still
struggle to reveal the region of the
corona closest to the Sun, where
many important processes occur.
3 4
Image Credit: NASA/JSC
Studying the Solar Eclipse helps
scientists learn about the
ionosphere, which is a layer of
charged particles created by the
Sun's energy.
Changes in the ionosphere can
have significant impacts on
technology and communication
systems, and is important for
many things like satellites and
GPS.
Story Time: • Hundreds of years ago, when people observed the
Moon during an eclipse, they saw Earth's shadow on

Why NASA the Moon and discovered that the Earth is round. Even
after all these years, scientists are still learning about
the Moon from lunar eclipses.

Observes Lunar • In December 2011, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance

Orbiter gathered data about how quickly the Moon's

Eclipses
day side (the side that always faces Earth) cools during
a lunar eclipse. NASA can learn what the Moon's
surface is made of from this data. If an area of the
Moon's surface is flat, it will cool quickly. Scientists
use this data to know which areas of the Moon are
rough with boulders and which are flat.
Predicting eclipses
1 To understand how Earth and the
Moon move around the Sun,
2 Using math, they figure out how
things move in space--they also
3 Scientists then feed the current
positions and speeds of Earth and the
scientists need to figure out how their consider how big the celestial bodies Moon into these complex equations.
shapes and movements affect each are and how they're not perfect
other. They use gravity to help them circles.
understand how everything fits
together.

4 They program a computer to figure out where the Moon and Sun are
in the sky when we look up from Earth. They can do this by making
5 Eclipses are specific arrangements of the Sun, Moon, and Earth that
can be identified by the computer--and they're really good at
the computer think about time and how things move forward or predicting them! They can even tell you exactly when an eclipse will
backward. This helps them figure out where the Moon and Sun are in start and end, even if it's hundreds of years from now!
the sky compared to each other.
WHAT CAN WE
LEARN FROM
ECLIPSES?
 GROUP
CHAT
It's time to spill
the cosmic beans!
Share the super cool stuff you've discovered from
learning about eclipses!
 Learnings from Eclipses according to
NASA
Scientists like to watch solar
eclipses because they can learn
new things about the air that
surrounds our planet, which is
called the atmosphere.
During a solar eclipse, the air
gets a little bit different than
normal, so it's an exciting time to
study it!
1 2
Eclipses have helped scientists
learn more about how things
work in space.
They even proved Einstein’s
Theory of Relativity--an idea
about how things move in space.
They also used eclipses to make
a map of the sun and how it
connects to other things in space.
 Learnings from Eclipses according to
NASA
Eclipses are a special
type of transit, where one
astronomical object blocks
another.
NASA uses transits to study the
exoplanets--planets outside the
solar system--going around
faraway stars.
1
3 4
Image Credit: NASA/David Cantillo
Eclipses can help us
better understand Earth's
ionosphere.
It's important to understand
because there are lots of things in
space that rely on it, like satellites
and signals that help us talk to
each other. When the ionosphere
changes, it can mess up our
technology and communication
stuff.
WHAT IS AN
IONOSPHERE?
The ionosphere is
where Earth’s

Ionosphere
atmosphere meets
space.

ere
ph
os
Ex

ere
ph
os
erm
Th

re
he
sp
eso
M
It forms the boundary between Earth's lower atmosphere — where we live and breathe

ere
— and the vacuum of space. Here, the Sun acts like a giant stove that heats up gases

ph
until they lose some of their tiny particles. This makes a big pool of charged particles

os
rat
that move around a lot and causes constant changes.

St

ere
ph
The ionosphere gets bigger and smaller depending on how much energy it gets from the

os
op
Sun. Because of this, the ionosphere changes from Earth’s day side to night side. The

Tr
ionosphere plays an important role in the study of eclipses.
WHEN AND WHERE
TO SEE FUTURE
SOLAR ECLIPSES?
 Eclipse highlights in 2023 & 2024
April 20, 2023
Hybrid Solar Eclipse
• Total eclipse visible:
Australia, Southeast Asia
• Annular eclipse visible:
Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean
• Partial eclipse visible:
Australia, Southeast Asia,
Antarctica
October 14, 2023
Annular Solar Eclipse
• Annular eclipse visible:
North America, Central
America, South America
• Partial eclipse visible: Africa,
North America, South
America, Pacific Ocean,
Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean
April 8, 2024
Total Solar Eclipse
• Total eclipse visible: North
America
• Partial eclipse visible:
North America, Central
America, South America,
Europe, Pacific Ocean,
Atlantic Ocean, Arctic
Ocean
October 2, 2024
Annular Solar Eclipse
• Annular eclipse visible: South
America
• Partial eclipse visible: South
America, Antarctica, Pacific
Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, North
America
 Eclipse highlights in 2025 & 2026

March 29, 2025
Partial Solar Eclipse
• Partial eclipse visible:
northwest Africa, Europe,
north Russia
Sept 21, 2025
Partial Solar Eclipse
• Partial eclipse visible: south
Pacific Ocean, New Zealand,
Antarctica
Feb 17, 2026
Annular Solar Eclipse
• Annular eclipse visible:
Antarctica
August 12, 2026
Total Solar Eclipse
• Annular eclipse visible: South
America
• Total eclipse visible: Arctic,
Greenland, Iceland, Spain
 Eclipse highlights in 2027 & 2028

February 6, 2027
Annular Solar Eclipse
• Annular eclipse visible:
Chile, Argentina, Atlantic
August 2, 2027
Total Solar Eclipse
• Total eclipse visible:
Morocco, Spain, Algeria,
Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
Yemen, Somalia
January 26, 2028
Annular Solar Eclipse
• Annular eclipse visible:
Ecuador, Peru, Brazil,
Suriname, Spain, Portugal
July 22, 2028
Total Solar Eclipse
• Total eclipse visible:
Australia, New Zealand
 Eclipse highlights in 2029

January 14, 2029
Partial Solar Eclipse
• Partial eclipse visible: North
America, Central America
June 12, 2029
Partial Solar Eclipse
• Partial eclipse visible: Arctic,
Scandinavia, Alaska, North
Asia, North Canada
July 11, 2029 December 5, 2029
Partial Solar Eclipse Partial Solar Eclipse
• Partial eclipse visible: • Partial eclipse visible: South
South Chile, South Argentina, South Chile,
Argentina Antarctica
Eclipse highlights in 2030

June 1, 2030 November 25, 2030

Annular Solar Eclipse
• Annular eclipse visible: Total Solar Eclipse
Annular: Algeria, Tunisia,
• Total eclipse visible:
Greece, Turkey, Russia,
Botswana, South Africa,
North China, Japan
Australia
Show off your 60

MINUTES
eclipse smarts and
get creative with
your cosmic know-
how!
Home Expedition
Take the fun with you—do this activity in the
comfort of your own space.

Click on “My Epic Eclipse Explorer’s

Journey” in the playlist to start the next
activity.
HOW CAN YOU
GET INVOLVED
IN ECLIPSE
EVENTS?
Get your
community 1 2
involved in eclipse WATCH FACILITATE

events! the NASA broadcast or

a livestream.
eclipse engagement
activities with your family
or community groups.

Here’s how you can convince family and friends to join

you in witnessing this awe-inspiring celestial event:
3 4
PARTICIPATE SPREAD
in a citizen science
THE WORD
project with NASA. about eclipse excitement and
safety!
 Key takeaways
1 2 3
Eclipses are a natural
Observing the eclipse can help Eclipses reveal insights into Earth's wonder that have and will
us learn more about our closest ionosphere, which affects our continue to occur in the
star, the Sun, and its interactions technology and communication coming years--always be
with Earth. systems. ready to safely view it from
wherever you are in the
world.
That’s a wrap on
Lesson 3!
Congratulations on finishing your
Eclipse Explorer’s journey.
Mission complete!
See you next time!