How does the Moon's positions affect its phases?

Answer 1

I think I know what you are driving at, but your question needs some clearing up. When one thing "affects" something else, it usually means that the two things are independent, or if they are not completely independent, they are not completely overlapping.

For example, temperature affects the number of mosquitos and other insects that will hatch out in the spring. If we have a very very warm winter, the normal process that would kill off some of the eggs doesn't happen. As a result, more insects. Temperature and the number of mosquitos are pretty much independent realities, but one affects the other. Poor nutrition among children will affect the number of illnesses that the children will contract. Same idea.

The moon phases don't really have any kind of causal affect on eclipses similar to the affects mentioned above. In fact, moon phases don't really exist as concrete, physical things. They are just names we give to the appearance of the moon depending on what part of it we can see. If you were living in a colony on the moon, you wouldn't be particularly interested in moon phases as observed from earth. You'd be more interested in the moon "day", which would last about 29.5 earth days.

What happens is that the moon's phases are connected to lunar and solar eclipses. The phases don't cause or affect eclipses, and eclipses don't cause or affect phases. Phases and eclipses are all part of the same process of earth orbiting the sun, and moon orbiting the earth. If it is near the full moon, you will NEVER observe a solar eclipse. Clearly, the full moon happens when the earth is very nearly between the sun and the moon. That's why we can look up and see the fully (or nearly so) lit moon in the sky. However, full moon is often "Lunar Eclipse Season". If a lunar eclipse is going to happen, it must happen during a full moon. Again, one is not causing the other.

If it is near "new moon", that is, the moon's face is completely or nearly completely unlit by the sun, you will NEVER observe a lunar eclipse. New Moon happens when the moon is between the sun and the earth, and the three are lined up as closely as they are going to get. New moon is often "Solar Eclipse Season". If a solar eclipse is going to happen, it must happen at new moon. Again, one is not causing the other.

Answer 2

The moon is essential in all eclipses seen on earth. A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth passes between the Sun and the moon. A Solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the earth and the Sun.

Answer 3

It makes solar eclipses much less frequent, and scatters them around the globe. The tilt of about 5 degrees means that solar eclipses only occur about twice a year at most. (Eclipses of the Moon by the Earth are also affected, but less so.)

If the Moon's orbit were in the plane of Earth's equator, total solar eclipses would occur every month at the New Moon, and they would all appear to travel a path along the equator. They would still be irregularly timed at any given location along the equator, because the Moon's orbital period is not an exact number of days.

With the existing tilt in addition to its elliptical orbit, solar eclipses can appear at practically any given location on Earth, or most importantly, do not occur at all in most months because the Moon's shadow does not fall on any part of the Earth's surface.

Answer 4

A solar eclipse can only occur at New Moon.

Answer 5

The Moons phases are caused by the sun, not its positions

Answer 6

Lunar eclipses occur during the full moon while solar eclipses occur during the new moon.

Answer 7

The sun and the eath has everything