LuNaR EcLiPsE

Have you heard that a very interesting astronomical phenomenon took place yesterday? It was a total lunar eclipse! A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from hitting the Moon. This can happen only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, with the Earth in the middle. Therefore, a lunar eclipse can only take place the night of a full moon. 

A total lunar eclipse took place yesterday, on 15th June 2011. It could be seen over Europe and south America after sunset, over Africa and most of Asia, and Australia before sunrise.I hope you have seen it! If you missed the eclipse, don't worry - the second one will take place on 10th December 2011.

Contrary to a solar eclipse, which can only be watched from a small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth. It is worth noticing that a lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts just for a few minutes. Watch the video to understand the phenomenon better!

DICTIONARY

phenomenon - zjawisko

take place, occur, happen - wydarzyć się

lunar eclipse - zaćmienie księżyca

total - całkowite

The Moon - księżyc

The Sun - słońce

The Earth - ziemia

pass - przechodzić

block - blokować

ray - promień

hit - dotrzeć 

aligned - ustawione w szeregu

full moon - pełnia księżyca

sunset - zachód słońca

sunrise - wschód słońca

miss - przegapić

watch, view - oglądać

anywhere - gdziekolwiek

side - strona

worth noticing - warte zauważenia

last - trwać

solar eclipse - zaćmienie słońca

The source of the photos : the Internet