How do eclipses happen?

The Sun, Moon, and Earth dance together to make eclipses happen.

Imagine you're playing with your toy cars in a sunny room. Your friend is like the Moon, and you’re like the Earth. The bright light from the lamp on the ceiling is like the Sun. When your friend blocks the light with their body, it gets darker where you are, that's like a solar eclipse.

Now imagine it's nighttime, and you're under a blanket of stars. Your friend takes a big flashlight and shines it toward you from across the room, that’s like the Moon reflecting sunlight. If your friend moves in front of the lamp, it blocks the light coming to you, that's like a lunar eclipse.

Sometimes the Moon is just right between the Earth and Sun, so we see the dark circle on the bright sky, solar eclipse! Other times, the Earth is just right between the Moon and Sun, so the Moon gets shadowed, lunar eclipse!

It’s like a game of hide-and-seek with light, the Moon hides the Sun or the Earth hides the Moon, and we get to see the fun show.