A Total Eclipse of Expressions: Eclipse Vocabulary

Discover the language of cosmic wonders with this list of vocabulary related to eclipses. From umbra to corona, dive into the terminology that illuminates the mysteries of solar and lunar eclipses. Explore the celestial dance of shadows and light, and eclipse ignorance with this stellar list of words!
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. alignment
    apparent meeting or passing of two or more celestial bodies
    “In a solar eclipse, there’s an alignment of the sun, the moon and the Earth so they’re in a line,” he said. AP News
  2. astronomical
    relating to the branch of physics studying celestial bodies
    Maskelyne and Mason had become friends eleven years earlier while engaged in a project to measure an astronomical event of great importance: the passage of the planet Venus across the face of the Sun. A Short History of Nearly Everything
  3. astronomy
    the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies
    We’d learned about astronomy: stuff like gravity, sound waves, and space warps. Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence
  4. celestial
    of or relating to the sky
    He’d wake her in the middle of the night and they’d use the big Deep Space Hunter telescope to look at a comet or other celestial event. A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age
  5. coincide
    go with; fall together
    People around the world have been watching a rare lunar eclipse that coincided with a so-called "supermoon". BBC News
  6. corona
    one or more circles of light seen around a luminous object
    The corona, an aura of plasma that surrounds the sun and stars, is the centerpiece of several works. Los Angeles Times
  7. eclipse
    the phenomenon when one celestial body obscures another
    From the size of the Earth’s shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse, he deduced that the Sun had to be much larger than the Earth, as well as very far away. Cosmos
  8. lunar
    of or relating to or associated with the moon
    But the fact that only a few of the lunar craters have extensive ray systems also reminds us that, even on the Moon, some erosion occurs.' Cosmos
  9. obscure
    make unclear or less visible
    "The air,” Audubon wrote later, "was literally filled with Pigeons; the light of noon-day was obscured as by an eclipse.” 1491
  10. occult
    cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention
    “As the Moon begins to occult the Sun more and more, you will need to lengthen the exposure a little bit,” Starr says. The Verge
  11. orbit
    the path of a celestial body in its revolution about another
    As each moon goes around its parent planet in a regular orbit, just as the Earth follows a regular one-year orbit around the Sun, each moon ought to be eclipsed behind Jupiter at regular intervals. The Scientists
  12. partial
    being or affecting only a segment
    Unlike a total solar eclipse, a partial eclipse does not entirely block the sun's light, so it doesn't get as dark outside as it does during a total eclipse. Time
  13. penumbra
    a region of light shadow around the darkest part of a shadow
    The moon will pass into Earth’s penumbra, or outer shadow. Seattle Times
  14. phenomenon
    any state or process known through the senses
    Like contemporary astrologers, the Olmec, Maya, and Zapotec believed that celestial phenomena like the phases of the moon and Venus affect daily life. 1491
  15. solar
    relating to the sun or utilizing the energies of the sun
    The solar neighborhood, the immediate environs of the Sun in space, includes the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. Cosmos
  16. total
    constituting the full quantity or extent; complete
    Unlike a total solar eclipse, a partial eclipse does not entirely block the sun's light, so it doesn't get as dark outside as it does during a total eclipse. Time
  17. totality
    the state of being total and complete
    Eclipse day began mostly clear but clouds gradually moved in and temperatures dropped, especially as the 12:38 p.m. totality approached. Salon
  18. umbra
    a region of complete shadow resulting from total obstruction of light
    The shadow directly under the moon, called the umbra, is a total eclipse. Washington Post
Created on Sat Aug 19 12:12:58 EDT 2017 (updated Wed Apr 03 17:48:16 EDT 2024)

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