Which term refers to an astronomical event where an object is temporarily obscured by entering the shadow of another body or by being blocked by another body?

Which term refers to an astronomical event where an object is temporarily obscured by entering the shadow of another body or by being blocked by another body?

• A. Eclipse
• B. Transit
• C. Alignment
• D. Conjunction

Answer: (A)

Eclipse is the phenomenon where an object is temporarily obscured because it enters the shadow of another body or is blocked by it. This happens in two common cases: solar eclipses, when the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth and casts a shadow on Earth; and lunar eclipses, when Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon and blocks sunlight from reaching the Moon. The idea is that light is interrupted by another body, not just that two objects appear close in the sky. A transit, by contrast, is when a body passes across the disk of a brighter body from our viewpoint, causing a dip in brightness but not primarily due to shadow. Alignment or conjunction describe where objects appear in the sky, without involving light being blocked or shadowed.

Eclipse is the phenomenon where an object is temporarily obscured because it enters the shadow of another body or is blocked by it. This happens in two common cases: solar eclipses, when the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth and casts a shadow on Earth; and lunar eclipses, when Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon and blocks sunlight from reaching the Moon. The idea is that light is interrupted by another body, not just that two objects appear close in the sky. A transit, by contrast, is when a body passes across the disk of a brighter body from our viewpoint, causing a dip in brightness but not primarily due to shadow. Alignment or conjunction describe where objects appear in the sky, without involving light being blocked or shadowed.