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Process of nature:

Eclipses
 Eclipse is the obscuring of one celestial body by another, particularly that of the sun or moon.
 Two kinds of Eclipses involve the earth:
o Those of the moon, or lunar eclipses.
o Those of the sun, or solar eclipses.

Lunar Eclipse:

 A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is between the sun and the moon and its shadow darkens the
moon.
 The earth casts a long, conical shadow in space called Umbra.
 At any point within that cone the light of the sun is wholly obscured.
 Surrounding the shadow cone, also called the umbra, is an area of partial shadow called the
penumbra.
 Lunar eclipse would always occur when moon is in full-moon phase.
 A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is completely in the umbra region.
 If it moves directly through the center, it is obscured for about 2 – 4 hours.
 If the moon does not pass through the center of umbra and travels through the very edge of the
umbra the period of totality1is less and may last for only an instant.
 A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a part of the moon enters the umbra and is
obscured partially.
 Total and Partial Eclipse:
A Lunar Eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the earth’s shadow.
 There are three types of lunar eclipses.
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the earth’s penumbra.
Penumbral eclipses are difficult to observe.
 The other two types of eclipses are partial and total eclipses.
 Both occur when the moon passes through the Earth’s umbra.
 A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a portion of the Moon enters the umbra.
 When the Moon travels completely into the Earth’s umbra, one observes a total lunar

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Period of totality: it is the complete obscuring of the moon.
Solar Eclipse:

 A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is between the sun and the earth and its shadow moves
across the face of the Earth.
 Solar eclipse always occurs at the time of new moon.
 Total solar eclipses occur when the moon’s umbra reaches the earth.
 The maximum duration of a total solar eclipse is about 7.5 minutes, but these are rare, occurring
only once in several thousand years.
 A total eclipse is usually visible for about 3 minutes.

 During a Solar Eclipse, the moon’s shadow darkens a portion of the surface of our planet.
 This shadow on the Earth consists of two regions:
The umbra
The penumbra.
An observer within the penumbra sees a partial solar eclipse, that is, part of the sun obscured by the moon.
An individual within the umbra sees a total solar eclipse, that is, whole sun is obscured by the moon.

Umbra and Penumbra


Umbra has its etymology in Latin meaning shadow, ghost, and shade.
Penumbra also has its roots in Latin.
Pen is derived from the Latin word Paenemeaning Partial.
Hence Penumbra means partial or incomplete shadow.
Both are parts of shadows.
Umbra is the opaque, darker part of the shadow.
The penumbra is the semi-opaque, lighter part of the shadow eclipse.
Frequency of Eclipses

Why isn’t there an Eclipse every month?

If the earth’s orbit, the ecliptic, were in the same plane as the moon’s orbit, two total eclipses would occur
during each lunar month, a lunar eclipses at the time of each full moon, and a solar eclipse at the time of
each new moon.
Eclipses occur only when the moon or the sun is within few degrees of the two points called the nodes,
where the orbits intersect each other.
Periodically both the sun and the moon return to the same position relative to one of the nodes.
Owing to this, eclipses repeat at regular intervals.
The time interval is called the saros and is about 18 years.
During one saros about 70 eclipses take place, usually 29 lunar and 41 solar; of the latter, usually 10 are
total and 31 partial.
During the 20th Century there were 228 solar and 147 lunar eclipses.
Why aren’t there a solar eclipse at every new moon and a lunar eclipse at every full moon?
As discussed earlier, moon’s orbit is slightly inclined to the ecliptic 2so the chance that a new or full moon
will occur just as the Moon happens to cross the ecliptic plane is quite low.
When the moon eclipse happens to lie above or below the plane of the ecliptic, a solar or lunar eclipse
cannot occur.
Such a configuration is termed unfavorable for producing an eclipse.

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Ecliptic means Earth, Moon and the Sun are perfectly aligned and are in the same plane.
Lunar Eclipse Solar Eclipse
1. Earth lies between the Sun and Moon. 1. Moon lies between Sun and Earth. Moon
Earth blocks the light of the sun and blocks the light of sun and shadow of moon
shadow of earth falls on moon. falls on earth.
2. Lunar eclipse always occurs at the time of 2. Solar eclipse always occurs at the time of
full moon. new moon
3. It is observed at night 3. It is observed during daytime
4. Lunar eclipse occurs almost twice a year 4. 2-5 solar eclipses every year
5. Lunar Eclipse is visible from all night time 5. Solar eclipses are visible in some areas of
places the world.
6. Its duration is about 2-4 hours 6. Its duration is usually a few minutes
7. It is safe to look at moon during eclipse 7. Retina gets damaged if solar eclipse seen
with naked eye

Motions of the Earth

The earth is constantly in motion, revolving around the sun and rotating on its own axis.

These motions account for many of the phenomenon we see as a normal occurrences: night and day,
changing of the seasons, and different climates in different regions.

With a globe be properly mounted and rotating on its axis, the movements of the earth around the sun
may illustrated accurately.

Rotation:

The Earth spins on its axis from West to East (Counter-clockwise). Earth takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and
4.09 seconds to complete one full turn. Days and nights are produced by the rotation of the Earth. The
speed of rotation is approximately, 1,038 miles per hour at equator, decreasing zero at the poles.

Effects of Earth’s Rotation

1. Formation of Days and Night

2. Apparent movement of sun and stars.

3. Knowledge of directions

4. Sense of time

5. Deflection of winds and oceanic currents.

6. Rotation of Earth causes a bulge at equator

7. Regular intervals of tides

8. Coriolis Effect.

Revolution:

While the earth is pining on its axis, it is revolving around the sun in counter-clockwise direction. Earth
takes one full year to complete one full revolution around the Sun. This path is known as Earth’s orbit. It is
very near a circle. The mean distance of the earth from the sun is about 93 million miles and the distance
varies by 2 million miles, forming a slightly oval path. The revolution of the Earth around the sun traverses
a distance of 595 million miles in 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 9.5 seconds. This means a speed of 18
miles a second while at the same time rotating once each twenty-four hours.
Formation of Seasons:

The seasons occur because the axis on which earth turns is tilted with respect to the plane Earth’s orbit
around the sun. Earth’s tilt causes the North Pole to be tilted toward the sun for half of the year, and the
South Pole for the other half of the year. The hemisphere that is tilted toward the Sun has a longer day,
receives more of the sun’s rays, and receives the sun’s rays more directly than hemisphere tilted away
from the sun. When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, this hemisphere is tilted toward the sun;
this corresponds to winter in the Southern Hemisphere, when the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away
from the sun. If earth’s axis was not titled, each night and day everywhere on Earth would always be 12
hours long and there would be no seasons.

The seasons have an unequal number of days because Earth’s orbit is slightly elliptical, or oval shaped,
and the sun is not exactly at the center of the orbit.

Earth moves slight faster when it is close to the sun than when it is farther away so the seasons that occur
when Earth is close to sun mass more quickly. Earth is closes to the sun in January and farthest away in
July, so the summer is longer than the winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere,
the winter is longer than the summer.

Solstices

 Solstice means unequally day length.


 The sun is said to be at solstice when the difference between the distances from each pole to the
sun is at its greatest.
 The solstices usually occur on December 21 or 22 and June 21 or 22.
In December, the South Pole is tilted farther towards the sun, the Southern
Hemisphere has its summer solstice and the Northern Hemisphere has its winter solstice.
In June, during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter solstice and the Northern
Hemisphere’s summer solstice, the North Pole is at its most direct tilt toward the sun, and the
South Pole titlists away from the sun.

The hemisphere most tilted toward the sun on the solstice experienced it longest day of sun light
and its shortest night. The other hemisphere experiences its shortest day of sun light and its
longest night.

Equinoxes

 Equinox means days and nights are equal length.


 In late March and late September, both hemisphere are at the same distance from the Sun and
this is said to be at an equinox.
 There are two types of equinox 1) vernal equinox 2) autumnal equinox
 The Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox usually occurs on March 20 or 21 and marks the
beginning of spring.
 The Northern Hemisphere’s autumnal equinox usually occurs on September 22 or 23 and marks
the beginning of autumn.
 In the Southern Hemisphere, the vernal equinox occurs in September and the Autumnal equinox
occurs in March.

At the equinoxes, the sun appears to be directly over earth’s equator. The day and night are then equal
over almost all earth, except at the poles. At the North Pole and South Pole, Earth’s atmosphere bends the
sun’s ray’s enough to make the sun visible throughout the day and night, even during the 12 hours the sun
is below the horizon.

Near the equator, hover, days and nights remain about 12 hours long through the year. The Arctic and
Antarctic circles, at latitude 66’30’ north and 66’30 south respectively mark the farthest points from the
poles at which there can be 24 hours of daylight or 24 hours night darkness. Midway between the poles
and the Equator the length of delight varies from about 8 hours in winter to about 16 hours in summer
Weather variables:

What is weather?

 . Weather, state of the atmosphere at a particular time and place.


 The elements of weather include temperature, humidity, cloudiness, precipitation, wind,
and pressure.
 These elements are organized into various weather systems, such as monsoons, areas of
high and low pressure, thunderstorms, and tornadoes.
 All weather systems have well-defined cycles and structural features and are governed by
the laws of heat and motion.
 These conditions are studied in meteorology, the science of weather and weather
forecasting.
 Weather differs from climate3.
 Climate includes the averages and variations of all-weather elements over the period of
25 to 30 years.
 Weather can change even after number of minutes
Temperature:
Temperature is a measure of the degree of hotness or coldness of the air.

Air temperature is a measure of how hot or cold the air is. It is the most commonly measured weather
parameter. More specifically, temperature describes the kinetic energy, or energy of motion, of the gases
that make up air. As gas molecules move more quickly, air temperature increases..

Three different scales are used for measuring temperature.

Kelvin / absolute scale

Celsius / centigrade, scale (Most nations use the Celsius scale)

Fahrenheit scale (United States use Fahrenheit)

Temperature on Earth averages 15°C (59°F) at sea level but varies according to latitude, elevation, season,
and time of day, ranging from a record high of 58°C (140°F) to a record low of -88°C (-130°F).

Temperature is generally highest in the Tropics and lowest near the poles.

Seasonal variations of temperature are generally more pronounced at higher latitudes.

Along the equator, all months are equally warm, but away from the equator.

It is generally warmest about a month after the summer solstice4 and coldest about a month after the
winter solstice5.

Temperature can change abruptly when fronts6 or thunderstorms pass overhead.

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Climate is the weather that a particular region experiences over a long period of time.
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Summer Solstice: usually June 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and December 21 or 22 in the Southern
Hemisphere
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Winter Solstice:usually December 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and June 21 or 22 in the Southern
Hemisphere.
Temperature decreases with increasing elevation at an average rate of about 6.5°C per km (about 19°F per
mi).

As a result, temperatures in the mountains are generally much lower than at sea level.

Pressure

 Pressure plays a vital role in all weather systems.


 Pressure is defined as force acting per unit area.
 Pressure decreases rapidly with height, halving about every 5.5 km (3.4 mi).
 Sea-level pressure varies by only a few percent.
 Large regions in the atmosphere that have higher pressure than the surroundings are called high-
pressure areas.

Anticyclone occurs in high pressure areas.

 Regions with lower pressure than the surroundings are called low-pressure areas / Lows.

Cyclone and most other storms occur in low-pressure areas.

Rapidly falling pressure usually means a storm is approaching, whereas rapidly rising pressure
usually indicates that skies will clear.

Wind and Circulation:

The wind pattern generated by the unequal heating of the earth’s surface produces the major wind belts
over the globe.

This average wind flow is called the general circulation of the atmosphere

Wind is the horizontal movement of air.

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Fronts:boundaries between two air masses with different temperatures or densities
The wind speed averages from 8 to 24 km/h (from 5 to 15 mph), but it can be much higher during intense
storms.

Wind speeds in hurricanes and typhoons exceed 120 km/h (75 mph) near the storm’s center and may
approach 320 km/h (200 mph).

The highest wind speeds at the surface of the Earth—as high as 480 km/h (300 mph)—occur in tornadoes.

Except for these storms, wind speed usually increases with height to the top of the troposphere.

Precipitation

Precipitation is any form of water (either liquid or solid) that falls from the atmosphere and reaches the
ground, such as rain, snow, or hail.

Precipitation is produced when the droplets and crystals in clouds grow large enough to fall to the ground.

Precipitation takes a variety of forms, including rain, drizzle, freezing rain, snow, hail, and ice pellets, or
sleet.

Precipitation amounts are usually given in terms of depth.

A well-developed winter storm can produce 10 to 30 mm (0.4 to 1.2 in) of rain over a large area in 12 to 24
hours.

An intense thunderstorm may produce more than 20 mm (0.8 in) of rain in 10 minutes and cause flash
floods (floods in which the water rises suddenly).

Hurricanes sometimes produce over 250 mm (10 in) of rain and lead to extensive flooding.

Humidity:

Humidity is a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air.

Humidity refers to the air’s water vapor content.

Hygrometers are instruments that measures humidity.

The maximum amount of water vapor that the air can hold depends on the air temperature; warm air is
capable of holding more water vapor than cold air.

The air’s capacity to hold vapor is limited but increases dramatically as the air warms, roughly
doubling for each temperature increase of 10°C (18°F).

When the air is holding all of the moisture possible at a particular temperature, the air is said to be
saturated.

In air containing a given amount of water vapor, the temperature at which dew begins to form is known as
the dew point.

If the dew point is below the freezing temperature of water, frost is formed.

There are several different measures of humidity.

Specific humidity

Specific humidity is a ratio of the water vapor content of the mixture to the total air content on a mass
basis
Relative humidity

Relative humidity is the ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum amount
of water vapor that the air could hold at that particular temperature.

If the amount of water vapor in the air remains the same, the relative humidity decreases as the
air is heated and increases as the air is cooled.

As a result, relative humidity is usually highest around dawn, when the temperature is lowest, and
lowest in mid-afternoon, when the temperature is highest.

Weather Variation(To be continued)

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