Printable Solar Eclipse Word Search

A solar eclipse vocabulary sheet with its answer key: kinds of eclipse, the Moon's shadow and the sights of totality.

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Solar Eclipse Word Search

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VIEWERPSOLARRTE

ESDUMBRAHALWIOL

IJJXJNOLHHISETU

SBSEETJCHGGMAAI

IPENCRESCENTRLB

NACNLYCRCLEUTIR

FTOLIDTWILIGHTI

SHRIPAOBPSQLOYT

HHONSRRUPUTILBF

ALNHEKIBANNULAR

DJAZFNNORESMRTT

OXFGUEAKTTIOGMT

WAERHSSPINHOLER

EDUIVSAHARHNNLB

FMBSFPUELHYBRID

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

SolarSOLAR
PartialPARTIAL
AnnularANNULAR
HybridHYBRID
EclipseECLIPSE
SunSUN
MoonMOON
EarthEARTH
ShadowSHADOW
UmbraUMBRA
AlignALIGN
PathPATH
TotalityTOTALITY
CoronaCORONA
CrescentCRESCENT
DarknessDARKNESS
TwilightTWILIGHT
ViewerVIEWER
PinholePINHOLE
ProjectorPROJECTOR

20 words from the Solar Eclipse Key Terms list.

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Answer key: Solar Eclipse Word Search

VIEWERPSOLARRTE

ESDUMBRAHALWIOL

IJJXJNOLHHISETU

SBSEETJCHGGMAAI

IPENCRESCENTRLB

NACNLYCRCLEUTIR

FTOLIDTWILIGHTI

SHRIPAOBPSQLOYT

HHONSRRUPUTILBF

ALNHEKIBANNULAR

DJAZFNNORESMRTT

OXFGUEAKTTIOGMT

WAERHSSPINHOLER

EDUIVSAHARHNNLB

FMBSFPUELHYBRID

SOLAR, PARTIAL, ANNULAR, HYBRID, ECLIPSE, SUN, MOON, EARTH, SHADOW, UMBRA, ALIGN, PATH, TOTALITY, CORONA, CRESCENT, DARKNESS, TWILIGHT, VIEWER, PINHOLE, PROJECTOR

Next step Print the light and shadow words Type in the words from your own eclipse lesson

All 124 words

Kinds of Solar Eclipse 18

Annular The kind in which the Moon looks smaller than the Sun and a bright ring stays around it.
Annulus The ring of sunlight left around the Moon; the name is from the Latin for a little ring.
Apogee The Moon's farthest point from Earth, where it looks slightly smaller in the sky.
Apparent Describes the size a body seems to have in the sky, which is not its true size.
Central Often used as one general term for the three kinds that are more than partial.
Curved Not flat. Earth's surface is, which is how one eclipse can be two kinds in different places.
Distance How far off the Moon is; it changes because the orbit is not a perfect circle.
Elliptical Slightly oval-shaped, like the route the Moon follows around Earth.
Farther More distant. The Moon looks less wide when it is this from Earth.
Hybrid The kind that shifts between two others as the shadow moves across the globe.
Larger How the Moon appears when it is nearer to Earth than normal.
Magnitude The fraction of the Sun's diameter that the Moon covers; 1.0 or more when the Sun is hidden.
Partial The kind in which the Moon hides only a piece of the Sun and a curved sliver is left.
Rare Not often seen; among solar eclipses the kind that changes along its path is comparatively so.
Ring of fire The effect in the sky when a faraway Moon leaves the Sun's rim uncovered.
Smaller How the Moon appears, compared with the Sun, when a bright ring is left showing.
Solar Of the Sun. Names the eclipse in which the Moon comes between us and the Sun.
Total The kind in which the Sun's whole face is hidden behind the Moon.

Show all 124 words (106 more)

Sun, Moon and Earth in Line 20

Align To line up, as three bodies in space must for an eclipse.
Between Where the Moon passes: with the Sun on one side of it and Earth on the other.
Block To stop light from passing, as the Moon does to the Sun's bright face.
Cast To throw a shadow onto something.
Coincidence A chance match: the Sun is about 400 times as big as the Moon and 400 times as far away.
Cone A shape that narrows to a point; the Moon's shadow is made of two, one inside the other.
Cover To hide from view by passing in front.
Daytime The hours of light, when a solar eclipse is seen: at new moon the Moon is in the sky by day.
Diameter The measure across a circle through its center.
Earth Our planet, where the Moon's shadow lands.
Eclipse What people see when the Sun, the Moon and our planet fall into a line.
Face The bright side of the Sun turned toward us, which the Moon hides.
Inclined Leaning at an angle, as the Moon's orbit is by about five degrees.
Miss To fail to hit; at most new moons the Moon's shadow does this to Earth.
Moon Earth's natural satellite, which slides across the front of the Sun.
Plane A flat surface; the Moon does not circle Earth in the same one that Earth and the Sun are in.
Shadow The dark shape the Moon throws on our planet when it stops the Sun's light.
Sun The star whose face the Moon hides, in part or in whole.
Tilt The lean of the Moon's orbit that makes its shadow usually pass too high or too low.
Umbra The dark inner part of the Moon's shadow, where no direct sunlight reaches.

Path of the Moon's Shadow 20

Antumbra The part of the shadow past the end of the dark inner one; inside it a ring of Sun shows.
Area A stretch of ground; far less of it sees a total eclipse than sees a partial one.
Chaser With "eclipse", an enthusiast who goes to remote places to see one.
Duration How long totality lasts: at present never more than 7 minutes 32 seconds.
East Roughly the direction the Moon's shadow heads in as it crosses Earth.
Globe The round Earth, across which the Moon's shadow moves.
Location The place where a viewer stands, which decides the kind of eclipse seen.
Narrow Not wide, like the strip of ground that sees totality.
Observer A person watching; one inside the lighter outer shadow sees a partial eclipse.
Path The strip of Earth's surface that the Moon's shadow crosses.
Penumbra The lighter outer shadow, where part of the Sun still shows.
Speed How fast something moves; the dark inner shadow travels at over 1,700 km an hour.
Surface The outside of Earth, which the dark inner shadow reaches in only a small area.
Sweep To move quickly across; the Moon's shadow does this over Earth in four to five hours.
Track Another word for the narrow strip of ground where totality is seen.
Umbraphile A name meaning shadow lover, for someone who travels to see eclipses.
Visible Able to be seen; a solar eclipse is this from only a relatively small part of the world.
West Roughly the direction the Moon's shadow comes from as it crosses Earth.
Width The measure across the strip of totality; the partial eclipse reaches far wider.
Zone A region; the one under the lighter outer shadow may stretch a thousand miles or more.

Sights of a Total Eclipse 23

Atmosphere The layers of gas around a star or a planet; the Sun's outer one is usually lost in its glare.
Baily's beads Points of sunlight that shine through valleys along the Moon's edge.
Chromosphere A layer of the Sun's atmosphere that shows as a thin pink circle at the Moon's edge.
Contact One of the four numbered moments of an eclipse, from the first touch of the two disks to the last.
Corona The Sun's outer atmosphere, seen as a ghostly white glow around the black Moon.
Crescent The curved sliver shape of the Sun when the Moon covers only part of it.
Crickets Insects that chirp when the sky goes dark, one way animals change their behavior.
Darkness The lack of light that falls by day on places under the dark inner shadow.
Diamond ring The effect when a single bright spot is left shining beside the faint glow around the Moon.
Flare An intense burst of radiation in the Sun's atmosphere; one may possibly be seen.
Horizon The line where the land or the sea meets the sky.
Photosphere The Sun's bright visible disk, which must be completely covered for an eclipse to be total.
Planets Worlds that circle the Sun; bright ones may show in the darkened sky.
Plasma The hot, thin matter that fills the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere.
Prominence A large structure that reaches out from the Sun's surface, often as a loop.
Shadow bands Wavy lines of light and dark that ripple over walls and ground right before and after totality.
Silhouette A dark outline against a bright background, as the Moon is in front of the Sun.
Stars Faraway suns; some particularly bright ones may show in the darkened sky.
Streamers Long streaks of the Sun's outer atmosphere that may be seen while the Sun is hidden.
Sunset What may seem to glow all the way around the horizon, through 360 degrees.
Temperature How warm the air is; it drops while the Sun is hidden.
Totality The brief time when the Moon completely hides the Sun's bright face.
Twilight The dim light of dawn or dusk, which the sky of a total eclipse resembles.

Watching a Solar Eclipse 23

Binoculars Two matched tubes for both eyes; for the Sun they need specially designed filters on the front.
Camera A device that takes pictures; pointed at the Sun, it needs a special filter over the front.
Cardboard The stiff material of the box used in NASA's steps for a homemade eclipse projector.
Colander A kitchen bowl full of holes; each hole throws a crescent Sun onto the ground.
Eclipse glasses Eyewear with special filters, made for looking straight at the Sun.
Eyes What solar filters are there to keep from harm.
Foil Thin aluminum sheet; a tiny hole punched in it lets a beam of sunlight through.
Index card A small stiff rectangle for notes; NASA's example of something to punch a tiny hole in.
Indirect Describes a way of viewing that does not involve looking at the Sun itself.
Inspect To look over carefully; NASA says do this to eclipse eyewear before each use.
Leaves On a tree, the gaps between them act as natural pinholes and show tiny eclipses on the ground.
Lens A curved piece of glass or plastic that bends light.
Paper A white sheet of it, taped inside the box, is where the Sun's picture lands.
Pinhole A tiny opening that throws a picture of the Sun onto a surface close by.
Projector A device that throws a picture of the Sun onto a surface, so nobody looks at the Sun itself.
Protection Something that keeps eyes safe; NASA calls for it whenever any of the bright Sun shows.
Safety Keeping from harm; NASA ranks it first of all when a solar eclipse is viewed.
Solar filter A special-purpose screen fixed over the front of an optical device for viewing the Sun.
Sunglasses Everyday dark eyewear, which NASA says cannot make viewing the Sun safe, however dark.
Sunscreen Skin lotion NASA suggests for watchers who stand in direct sunlight for hours.
Supervise To watch over; NASA says always do this for children using solar viewers.
Telescope An instrument for seeing far; the first known use of one on a total solar eclipse was in 1706.
Viewer With "solar", a handheld device with a safe window for looking at the Sun.

Eclipse Seasons, Cycles and Science 20

Ancient Of long ago; forecasts of eclipses were being made in China by the 4th century BC.
Astronomer A scientist who studies the Sun, the Moon, the stars and other bodies in space.
Century A span of 100 years, which holds about 240 solar eclipses on average.
Coronagraph A telescope attachment that blocks a star's direct light, making an artificial eclipse.
Discovery A finding of something new; NASA says eclipses have driven many in science.
Helium An element first detected in the Sun's light during an eclipse in 1868.
Interval The length of time between one event and the next.
Myth A traditional story, such as those once told to explain a darkened Sun.
New moon The lunar phase, about once a month, that is the only time a solar eclipse occurs.
Omen A sign of things to come, which some cultures took a solar eclipse to be.
Photograph A picture made with a camera; the first known one of a solar eclipse dates from 1851.
Predict To say ahead of time when and where an eclipse will come.
Records Written accounts; ancient ones of eclipses helped show how Earth's spin has changed.
Relativity The theory of Einstein's that observations of an eclipse in 1919 helped to confirm.
Saros A period of a little over 18 years, after which a practically identical eclipse occurs.
Season With "eclipse", one of two periods a year, each about 35 days, when eclipses can occur.
Series A chain of eclipses that follow one another at the same interval of time.
Spectroscope The instrument whose use at the eclipse of 1868 helped show what the Sun is made of.
Starlight Light from distant suns; in 1919 astronomers measured how the Sun's pull bends it.
Transit The passing of a small body across the face of a larger one, covering a small part of it.

How this list was compiled: Own work: the word list and every clue were written for this page. The facts in the clues were checked on 2026-10-09 against NASA Science, Eclipses (https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/) with its pages Types (https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/types/), Geometry (https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/geometry/), Safety (https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/safety/), the 2023 annular eclipse (https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2023/) and What to Expect (https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/what-to-expect/), and against English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), among them the articles on the solar eclipse (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse), Baily's beads (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baily%27s_beads), shadow bands (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_bands), the magnitude of an eclipse (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnitude_of_eclipse), the eclipse cycle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_cycle), the solar prominence (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_prominence), the solar viewer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_viewer), the coronagraph (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronagraph), helium (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium) and the Eddington experiment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddington_experiment). A vocabulary list for class: before viewing an eclipse, read NASA's safety page. Licence: own work

How it works

This printable solar eclipse word search opens on 20 key terms: Eclipse, Totality, Umbra, Corona, Annular, Partial, Hybrid, Path, Crescent, Pinhole and ten more. For the lunar eclipse and the eight phases, print the moon phases word search.

Read the full guide

Why an eclipse happens, in three lists

Sun, Moon and Earth in Line gives the cause in 20 words: the Moon comes Between, its orbit is Inclined, and most months the shadow will Miss. Kinds of Solar Eclipse (18) explains the ring: Apogee, Smaller, Annulus. Penumbra and Antumbra sit in Path of the Moon's Shadow (20), since Umbra reads inside both. All three are under Start from a list.

The day of the eclipse

Watching a Solar Eclipse has 23 viewing words, such as Eclipse glasses, Projector, Colander and Supervise. Sights of a Total Eclipse (23) follows the minutes around totality: Baily's beads, Diamond ring, Shadow bands, Chromosphere. Eclipse Seasons, Cycles and Science (20) runs from Saros to Helium.

Baily's beads, Diamond ring, Shadow bands and five more entries of two or three words hide closed up: BAILYSBEADS.
For a young class, Easy Solar Eclipse has 35 short words such as Sun, Moon, Path and Foil.

Questions and answers

What are the four types of solar eclipse?

Total, annular, partial and hybrid, on NASA's list. A total eclipse hides the Sun's whole face, an annular one leaves a ring, a partial one leaves a crescent, and a hybrid shifts between annular and total along its path.

What is the difference between the umbra and the penumbra?

The umbra is the dark inner shadow of the Moon: inside it the Sun is completely blocked and the eclipse is total. The penumbra is the lighter outer shadow, where the Sun is only partly blocked and viewers see a partial eclipse.

How long does a total solar eclipse last?

The Moon's shadow crosses Earth in four to five hours, NASA says, but at any one place the total phase lasts only a few minutes or less. At present totality can never run past 7 minutes 32 seconds.

Why is there not a solar eclipse every month?

The Moon's orbit is tilted by about five degrees to the plane that Earth and the Sun are in, so at most new moons its shadow passes above or below Earth. The three line up in two eclipse seasons a year.

Is there a solar eclipse printable word search with a key?

Yes. The puzzle takes one sheet of Letter or A4 and the key, with all 20 words ringed, the next. Tick Show clues, not words under More options and Totality prints as "The brief time when the Moon completely hides the Sun's bright face."

All 124 words

Kinds of Solar Eclipse 18

Sun, Moon and Earth in Line 20

Path of the Moon's Shadow 20

Sights of a Total Eclipse 23

Watching a Solar Eclipse 23

Eclipse Seasons, Cycles and Science 20

How it works

Why an eclipse happens, in three lists

The day of the eclipse

Questions and answers

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