Why isn't there an eclipse at every new moon?

Answer 1

The Moon does not orbit directly in line with the orbit of the earth around the sun. The orbit has a slight tilt, know as inclination, of about 5 degrees. Also, the earth does not rotate exactly exactly aligned with the sun or the moon. And each rotation has a different speed or period. So there is only two points every year when a solar eclipse will occur somewhere. Every year there will be at least two solar eclipses, although when the Moon catches the point at just the right time there can be up to three eclipses in the same season, but in different places. This only happens once every 233 years or so.

Answer 2

The Earth orbits around the Sun in a flat plane called the "ecliptic". The Moon orbits around the Earth in a flat plane as well, but it is tilted about 5% from the plane of the Earth's orbit.

So most of the time when the Moon gets in between the Earth and the Sun, it isn't EXACTLY between; the Moon is just a little bit above or below the ecliptic. When the Moon is New just as the Moon's orbital plane is passing through the plane of the ecliptic, we have eclipses; generally two per year.

Normally there is a lunar eclipse 2 weeks before (or two weeks after) every solar eclipse.

Answer 3

An eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly between the sun and the Earth, blocking the sun's light. Due to the tilt of the moon's orbit relative to the Earth, the moon's shadow usually misses the Earth during a new moon. Eclipses only happen when the moon, Earth, and sun are in a specific alignment.

Answer 4

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