catalogs logo
catalogs.com logo

Discover What Causes Shadows: Learning Amazing Science Facts

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

From puppets to lunar eclipses, we love to see shadows. What causes shadows by the way?

Shadows are everywhere. Do you see them like someone following you down the street? Around corners and stopping every time you hesitate and look in a shop window? Did you somehow walk out the supermarket door into the plot of a suspense novel? Are you being shadowed? Yes, definitely. By your shadow. What causes shadows?

Well, shadows are caused by the introduction of a solid object between a light source and another surface such as a person, the sun, and the pavement. A person, lamp, and wall produce a shadow.

Kids and their Shadows

what causes shadows
Light and shadows fascinate people of all ages. Babies will move in curiosity when they spot one. Leaves on a tree, puppets in the light, laundry blowing on a line or the shadow of a parent or caretaker piques their interest. Toddlers and little children get very excited when they discover their shadows. They are even more excited when they discover that they can change their shadows’ shapes by moving their bodies.

One of the greatest storybook moments occurs when Wendy Darling meets Peter Pan. This explains to him how his shadow works. We just know that the rest of the story is going to be extraordinary. Additionally in the Philippines and some other parts of Asia, intricately cut paper puppets are used for shadow shows.

Before you continue reading about the Discover What Causes Shadows: Learning Amazing Science Facts there is a special announcement we would like to share with you. Catalogs.com has negotiated special medicare rates for our vibrant community of seniors. If you are over the age of 60, you can head over to our Seniors Health Section which is full of information about medicare. All you need is your zip code and a few minutes of your time to potentially save 100s of dollars on your medicare bills.

Get Free Catalogs When You Sign Up

Don't wait, sign up and get Free Shipping Offers, Discount Codes and lots of Savings Now!

What you can do with a Shadow

what causes shadows
A mother raising the baby-carriage top would tell you that you can use shade, another word for shadow. This is to protect a baby from too much sun. An older child will tell you that you can make shadows to amuse little ones. One can do this by moving your fingers this way or that to make a bunny, a camel, a bird, or a scary monster.

Artists of all kinds will tell you that the relationships between light and shadow form a foundation for many art forms. Tack a piece of paper to a sunny or brightly-lit wall, trace the shadow of a child or friend’s head in profile and you have an old-fashioned silhouette portrait.

Shadowy Astronomy

Lunar Eclipse
What causes shadows in space? One of the most interesting shadows you will ever see is during a lunar eclipse. While an eclipse of the sun is caused by the body of the moon moving between the sun and the earth, a lunar eclipse is one more shadow game. The earth passes between the sun and the moon. Because the moon has no light of its own, we watch the shadow of the earth reflected as it passes over the moon.

Early eclipses of both kinds terrified those watchers who lacked the modern scientific explanations of what was actually happening. Solar eclipses have always been rare but they reinforced the constant winter fear that perhaps the sun had ceased to shine and the world would become dark forever.

Ancient Beliefs about Earth’s Shadow

Half-moon
More frequent lunar eclipses were fearful but since many people saw one or several within their lifetimes and could remember the moon returning lunar eclipses mostly just complicated already confused astronomy. People believed for centuries the earth was the center of the universe and the only way to explain the apparent movements of planets, the sun, and the moon was to theorize that every few rotations around the earth the planets, sun, and moon looped backward in their orbits to correct what was believed to be their proper arrangement. When astrologers describe a planet as ‘in retrograde,’ that is the old belief to which they are referring.

Eclipses Only Come Around Once in a While

View of Solar Eclipse
Why do eclipses happen only once in a while? Even solar-centric astronomy, where the planets including the earth rotate around the sun, is hard to understand because everything keeps spinning. The moon rotates around the earth while the earth spins. While the earth is spinning giving us day and night, it also rotates around the sun giving us a year. The moon doesn’t spin and the sun doesn’t spin which are good things because by now our minds are spinning!

Perhaps there is a new technology that explains this better to children. Almost every adult remembers the orange-grapefruit-flashlight classroom lesson, sometimes varied with a ping pong ball and tennis ball playing the fruit parts, and how hard it was to keep everything spinning and rotating at the same time.

Popular Savings Offers

Perhaps the best thing to do with the great cosmic shadow play we call an eclipse is just to enjoy it. Or bundle up, break out the flashlight, aim it at the garage door and let your child put on a shadow show. No spinning or rotating is required.

cc

Top Deals

See All

Recent Posts

Get Free Catalogs When You Sign Up

Don't wait, sign up and get Free Shipping Offers, Discount Codes and lots of Savings Now!

Categories

Saving Tools

Follow Us

Logo

Since 1996, Catalogs.com has been considered the web's catalog shopping authority. Our trends experts have carefully reviewed thousands of catalogs and online stores and have featured only the most respected, distinctive, and trusted ones. From popular favorites to new discoveries, you'll shop and save with exclusive coupon codes!

Invitations for applications for insurance on Catalogs.com are made through QuoteLab, LLC and transparent.ly. Submission of your information constitutes permission for an agent to contact you with additional information about the cost and coverage details of health and auto insurance plans. Descriptions are for informational purposes only and subject to change. Insurance plans may not be available in all states. For a complete description, please call to determine eligibility and to request a copy of the applicable policy. Catalogs.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program. By using this site, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.