Why do eclipses not occur more often?

Answer 1

Lunar eclipses are more frequent than solar eclipses. The quick-and-dirty reason for this is because the earth casts a larger shadow than the moon. Lunar eclipses are also quite a bit longer in duration than solar eclipses. Solar eclipses last minutes, and lunar eclipses can last hours.

Answer 2

Eclipses are rare because the alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth needs to be just right for them to occur. The Moon's orbit is tilted slightly relative to Earth's orbit around the Sun, so most of the time the three celestial bodies do not align perfectly to cause an eclipse.

Answer 3

The plane that the earth and sun lie on is different than the plane that the earth and moon are on. On occasion all of the planes are lined up and that is when eclipses occur. Since the earth is much larger than the moon and therefore casts a larger shadow, lunar eclipses are much more common.

Answer 4

The plane that the Earth travels around the Sun is tilted with respect to the plane the Moon travels around the Earth. The Earth-Moon plane slowly rotates around the Sun-Earth plane (centered more-or-less on the Earth). Eclipses only occur where these two planes are very close to crossing, and when the Moon is in/near one of those two crossing points. This does not happen very often.

Answer 5

Good question! The Earth circles the Sun in a plane that we call the "ecliptic". The Moon orbits the Earth in a slightly DIFFERENT plane. We only see eclipses when the Moon is at the full or new phase just as the Moon is crossing the plane of the ecliptic.

If the Moon and Earth orbited in the same plane, then we would see eclipses every 2 weeks! But because the plane of the Moon's orbit is a little tilted to the plane of the Earth's orbit, we only see two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses each year.

Answer 6

Actually, they do. Between the years 1901 and 2000, there were 229 lunar eclipses

and 228 solar ones. The difference is that a lunar eclipse happens ON THE MOON, and

is visible from the entire night half of the Earth. A solar eclipse happens here on the

Earth, and is only visible within a very small stripe across the surface of the Earth.

And since the Earth is 3/4 covered with water, there are a lot of solar eclipses that very few people get to see - unless they live on islands or are aboard ships. For example, the next solar eclipse will be July 11, 2010, but will be visible only across a strip of the south Pacific Ocean, including a few atolls in French Polynesia, Easter Island, and the southern tip of South America.

Answer 7

They aren't rare at all. There are generally two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses each year; rarely none, but sometimes as many as five!

Lunar eclipses are a common sight, because they happen ON THE MOON, in plain sight of half of the planet. Solar eclipses seem more rare, because each one covers only a narrow path across the Earth. And since the Earth is 3/4 water, about 3/4 of all eclipse viewing opportunities are also over water.

For example, the next solar eclipse will be on July 11, 2010, just one month from now. It will cover a path across the South Pacific Ocean, including a few atolls in French Polynesia, Easter Island, and the southern tip of South America.

Answer 8

Solar eclipses AREN'T rare; there are usually two per year, sometimes as many as five per year.

We PERCEIVE them as being rare, however, because the Moon is much smaller than the Earth, and the Moon's shadow is much smaller than THAT. The Moon's shadow on the Earth during a solar eclipse only covers, at MOST, a circle about 300 miles across. That means that an eclipse will affect one spot on the Earth perhaps once a century.

Some places will get very lucky! If you're an eclipse fan, then you should move to Cape Girardeau, MO. People around there will have two total solar eclipses seven years apart on August 21, 2017 and April 8, 2024

But also remember than the Earth is 3/4 covered by oceans, and so about 75% of the eclipses are over water where we land creatures don't see them.

Answer 9

There are generally two lunar eclipse each year, and two solar eclipses each year. About half of the lunar eclipses are partial or penumbral. Penumbral lunar eclipses generally are not noticeable to the naked eye. And about half of the solar eclipses are partial, and are not obvious.

But because a lunar eclipse happens ON THE MOON, it can be seen from the entire night half of the Moon. So on average, we see a solar eclipse every other year.

Solar eclipses seem more rare, because they affect only a small area of the Earth. So decades or centuries may separate visible solar eclipses at a particular location.

Answer 10

The Earth, Sun, and Moon have to be lined up in a specific way for an eclipse to occur; since the Moon's orbit around Earth is tilted slightly with respect to the Earth's orbit around the Sun, this alignment is fairly rare. Usually the Moon is too far above or below the Earth's orbital plane for an eclipse to happen.