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Celestial fireworks

The bright ring you might see around the Sun during a solar eclipse is the coronaThe outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun., the Sun's outermost layer, which appears to be a pearly color. The red plumes that shoot out around this ring are called prominencesMasses of glowing gas, mainly hydrogen, that rise from the Sun's surface like flames..

Like fireworks, these streams of glowing gas shoot out from the Sun and extend many miles into space. No wonder ancient people were terrified. Lunar eclipses have a colorful side also. They can make the Moon turn red. This reddish color is actually an accumulation of light waves from the Sun.

By constructing models that simulate eclipses, we can better understand the extraordinary processes that cause them.

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1. Introduction
2. Close encounters in the sky
3. Celestial line-up
4. Celestial fireworks
5. Project 1 - Simulating Solar and Lunar Eclipses
6. Project 2 - Phases of the Moon: What does each phase look like?
7. Design Your Own Experiment