By Eunice Lee, and Bonnie Sezto

The Solar System and Beyond

The people of many cultures from all parts of the globe have developed various myths and legends about eclipses. Many believe that an eclipse is an omen of some natural disaster or the death or downfall of a ruler.

Myths About eclipse

Sometimes the moon blocks the light from the sun, this is called Solar Eclipse. During a total Eclipse, viewers within a strip of earth’s Surface, called the path of totality, witness the sun totally obscured for a few moment by the moon.

Solar Eclipse

This map shows the full extent of the Milky Way galaxy - a spiral galaxy of at least two hundred billion stars.

Milky way galaxy

The Solar System is full of planets, moons, asteroids, comets, minor planets, and many other exciting objects. Learn about Io, the explosive moon that orbits the planet Jupiter, or explore the gigantic canyons and deserts on Mars.

Solar System

Earth, our home planet, is the only planet in our solar system known to harbor life. All of the things we need to survive are provided under a thin layer of atmosphere that separates us from the uninhabitable void of space.

Earth

The Earth rotates on an axis, making one full rotation every 24 hours. Different sides of the Earth are exposed to the sun during the course of these 24 hours, with half of the planet being exposed to sun while the other half is deprived of light. It is this rotation that causes day and night.

Day and night

Leap Years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the sun. It takes the Earth approximately 365.242199 days – or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds (a tropical year) – to circle once around the Sun.

Leap Year

The End