Why do eclipses happen?
Shadow Dance
Why do eclipses happen?
You've seen pictures of the sky going dark in the middle of the day — the sun vanishing behind a black circle while the world holds its breath. It looks like magic, like the universe pressed pause. But it's actually something way cooler: cosmic geometry in motion, happening because three giant spheres line up just right.
Start with the basic dance. Earth orbits the sun. The moon orbits Earth. All three are constantly moving through space like figure skaters circling each other. Most of the time, the moon passes "above" or "below" the sun from our perspective — we don't even notice. But every so often, the paths cross perfectly. The moon slides directly between us and the sun.
