🌘 Eclipse or not?

🦉 Peabody describes something in the sky. Is it an eclipse of the Sun, an eclipse of the Moon, or not an eclipse at all? Never look at the Sun to find out.

Peabody is getting the questions ready…

The answers, and why

In the daytime, the Moon slides in front of the Sun and it gets dark like evening. What is it? An eclipse of the Sun. When the Moon passes exactly between the Sun and Earth, its shadow falls on us: an eclipse of the Sun.
At night, the full Moon slowly turns a dark coppery red for about an hour. What is it? An eclipse of the Moon. Earth's shadow is falling on the Moon. Sunlight bent through Earth's air turns it red: an eclipse of the Moon.
The Moon looks like a thin curved slice tonight. What is it? Not an eclipse. That's a crescent, one of the Moon's ordinary shapes. We just see a little of its sunny side.
A big cloud covers the Sun and the day goes grey. What is it? Not an eclipse. A cloud is in our air, not in space. An eclipse needs the Moon in front of the Sun.
In the daytime, a dark circle sits in the middle of the Sun with a bright ring all around it. What is it? An eclipse of the Sun. That's an annular eclipse of the Sun: the Moon is a little farther away than usual, so it doesn't quite cover the Sun, and a ring is left.
For a few nights each month, you can't see the Moon at all. What is it? Not an eclipse. That's the new Moon: its sunny side faces away from us. It happens every month, and it isn't an eclipse.
On 2 August 2027, the sky goes dark in the middle of the day in Luxor, in Egypt, for a few minutes. What is it? An eclipse of the Sun. That's the total eclipse of the Sun in August 2027. Luxor is right under the Moon's shadow.
Earth's shadow falls across the full Moon at night. What is it? An eclipse of the Moon. Earth's shadow on the Moon is an eclipse of the Moon. It can only happen at full Moon.
The Sun goes down behind the hills in the evening. What is it? Not an eclipse. That's sunset: Earth turning away from the Sun. It happens every day.
Half the Moon is bright and half is dark, and it stays that way all night. What is it? Not an eclipse. That's a quarter Moon, one of its ordinary shapes. In an eclipse the Moon dims for an hour or two, then comes back.

⚔️ Then beat the Junk Kraken

Questions from the other space quizzes. Three boxes, no timer.

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“Wrong answers are fine. That's how astronomers learn too: look, guess, look again.”