When Eclipses Occur
- Solar Eclipses do not happen during every New Moon because The Earth's
orbit around the Sun and the Moon's orbit around the Earth do not lie in the
same plane.
- The Moon's orbit has to cross the Earth's orbit (ecliptic) twice for
every Moon orbit.
- The line between the two points that the Moon crosses the Earth's orbit
is called the line of nodes.
In order to have an eclipse, these must hold:
- The Moon must be in the same plane as the Earth and the Sun.
- The line of nodes must point at the Sun
These hold true in Points A and C
in the Earth's rotation.
Otherwise, whenever the Moon and the Sun are on the same side of the
Earth, the Moon would either be above or below the Sun as viewed from the
Earth.
These are Points B and D in the Earth's
rotation.
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