An Eclipse takes place when one heavenly body such as a moon or planet moves into the shadow of another heavenly body. There are two types of eclipses on Earth: an eclipse of the moon and an eclipse of the sun.
Lunar eclipses occur when Earth’s shadow blocks the sun’s light, which otherwise reflects off the moon. There are three types — total, partial and penumbral — with the most dramatic being a total lunar eclipse, in which Earth’s shadow completely covers the moon.
Solar eclipses occurs when Moon comes between earth and the sun, it blocks the light of the sun from reaching Earth. This causes an eclipse of the sun, or solar eclipse. During a solar eclipse, the moon casts a shadow onto Earth.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon completely blocks the sun. In a total solar eclipse, the narrowest part of the path (where the Sun is completely blocked and the Moon casts its darkest shadow (called the umbra)) is called the “zone of totality”.
The birth and death of Periodical Cicadas is by far the best and rarest natural phenomenon that occurs on our planet earth. Cicadas are spectacular insects often making dramatic and sudden appearances.
In East coast of North America, in the dry forests, this phenomenon occurs once every 17 years. The name is a direct derivation of the Latin cicada, meaning “tree cricket”. Cicadas are commonly eaten by birds and sometimes by squirrels.
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air which descends from a thunderstorm to the ground. A tornado begins as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud extending from a thunderstorm cloud base. A funnel cloud is made visible by cloud droplets, however, in some cases it can appear to be invisible due to lack of moisture. When the funnel cloud is half-way between the cloud base and the ground, it is called a tornado. The tornado’s high-speed winds rotate about a small, relatively calm center, and suck up dust and debris, making the tornado darker and more easily seen.
Water Spouts are tornadoes that form over water. Because of this, they don’t pose a major threat unless you happen to be in a boat.
During large solar explosions and flares, huge quantities of particles are thrown out of the sun and into deep space.
The aurora borealis or northern lights is one of the most spectacular natural displays on the planet. When the particles meet the Earth’s magnetic shield, they are led towards a circle around the magnetic North Pole, where they interact with the upper layers of the atmosphere. The energy which is then released is the northern lights.
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun.
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