Han-era astronomers adopted a geocentric model of the universe, theorizing that it was shaped like a sphere surrounding the earth in the center. They assumed that the Sun, Moon, and planets were spherical and not disc-shaped. They also thought that the illumination of the Moon and planets was caused by sunlight, that lunar eclipses occurred when <answer>the Earth</answer> obstructed sunlight falling onto the Moon, and that a solar eclipse occurred when the Moon obstructed sunlight from reaching <answer>the Earth</answer>. Although others disagreed with his model, Wang Chong accurately described the water cycle of the evaporation of water into clouds.
What object was assumed to block sunlight during a lunar eclipse?
the Earth