Assignment Task: Modeling Solar Eclipses
Section 1: Drawing a Scale Model
If the Earth-Moon distance is 510 mm, then: The Moon is 4.6 mm diameter and Earth is 17 mm diameter.
1. On the back of two sheets of paper, draw out Earth, the Moon, and the proper distance between them using the scale above.
2. The Sun is about 400 times farther from Earth compared to the Earth-Moon distance. Using the scale you just drew, how far away would the Sun be located from Earth, as measured in meters? As measured in sheets of paper?
Section 2: Considering Solar Eclipses
3. A solar eclipse can occur when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are all within a plane, such as this piece of paper or the table top. Is it the case that one of these objects is not always in the plane of the paper? If so, which object? Why?
4. Because an eclipse requires all three objects to be in one plane, we can consider two of the objects at a time. First consider the plane made by Earth and the Moon. This is the plane you have created in Section 1. Next consider the plane made by Earth and the Sun. This is the plane that is typically considered when determining when a solar eclipse can occur.
a) How do these two planes need to align for an eclipse to be visible from Earth? (A sketch might be useful.)
b) Is this answer consistent with your response to question 3?
5. On this sheet, draw the Moon and Earth using the scale. Then draw a line at 5 degrees to this line that points toward the Sun. (The Sun still does not fit on the sheet!)
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