| An '''eclipse''' is an [[astronomical]] [[event]] that occurs when one [[celestial]] object moves into the [[shadow]] of another. The term is derived from the ancient [[Greek]] noun ἔκλειψις (ékleipsis), which is derived from the verb ἐκλείπω (ekleípō), "to cease to [[exist]],"[1] a combination of prefix εκ- (ek-), from preposition εκ, εξ (ek, ex), "out," and of verb λείπω (leípō), "to be [[absent]]".[2] [3] When an eclipse occurs within a stellar [[system]], such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Solar_System Solar System], it forms a type of syzygy—the alignment of three or more celestial bodies in the same [[gravitational]] system along a straight line.[4] | | An '''eclipse''' is an [[astronomical]] [[event]] that occurs when one [[celestial]] object moves into the [[shadow]] of another. The term is derived from the ancient [[Greek]] noun ἔκλειψις (ékleipsis), which is derived from the verb ἐκλείπω (ekleípō), "to cease to [[exist]],"[1] a combination of prefix εκ- (ek-), from preposition εκ, εξ (ek, ex), "out," and of verb λείπω (leípō), "to be [[absent]]".[2] [3] When an eclipse occurs within a stellar [[system]], such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Solar_System Solar System], it forms a type of syzygy—the alignment of three or more celestial bodies in the same [[gravitational]] system along a straight line.[4] |