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The moon's orbit is flat. That is, every point in its orbit lies in the same plane.
But that plane isn't in the plane of the Earth'sorbit.
If it were, then we would have a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse every 29.531
days ... 37 of each kind every 3 years. (I'm not sure, but I think the solar eclipses
could not be total anywhere outside the Earth's tropics.)
Anyway, eclipses would be so common that nobody would give them a second
thought, any more than anyone stands and marvels at a sunrise or sunset. It
would be just something that happens.
What else can I help you with?
Why do you only have 2-4 solar eclipses a year?
We don't have as many solar (or lunar) eclipses per years as would be intuitively obvious because the plane of the orbit of the Moon around the Earth is inclined 5.14 degrees with respect to the plane of the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. In order for an eclipse to occur, the three (Earth, Moon, and Sun) must be aligned with each other, and that does not occur very often, due to the inclination.
Why solar eclipse does not occur every time the moon revolves around earth?
The Earth orbits the Sun in a plane that we call the "ecliptic". If the Moon orbited the Earth in that same plane, we would experience eclipses every month. But the plane of the Moon's orbit is about 5 degrees tilted from the ecliptic, and so we only see eclipses at the "nodes" when the Moon's orbital plane crosses the ecliptic at the new or full moons.
Why do you not see a solar eclipse every month?
Solar eclipses occur when the moon comes between the Earth and the Sun, but the moon's orbit is inclined by about 5 degrees to the Earth-sun plane. As a result, the moon's shadow usually misses the Earth during a new moon (when solar eclipses occur), hence they don't happen every month.
What would happen to the frequency of eclipses if the Moon's orbit were not tilted?
If the plane of the moon's orbit coincided with the plane of the earth's orbit (the 'ecliptic plane'), there would be a solar eclipse at every New Moon, and a lunar eclipse at every Full Moon. Nobody would think anything of it. It would be commonplace, just "the way things work", and nobody would even bother to look up. Eclipses would be as boring as the sunrise and sunset are, even though all are equally miraculous.
Why does a lunar or solar eclipse happen only twice per year?
For an eclipse, Sun, Earth and Moon must be aligned. Most of the time, the Moon doesn't pass exactly in front of the Earth (for a solar eclipse) or behind it (for a lunar eclipse), but passes more to the north or more to the south. This is because the Moon's orbit around the Earth is not exactly in the same plane as Earth's orbit around the Sun.
Why do you only have 2-4 solar eclipses a year?
We don't have as many solar (or lunar) eclipses per years as would be intuitively obvious because the plane of the orbit of the Moon around the Earth is inclined 5.14 degrees with respect to the plane of the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. In order for an eclipse to occur, the three (Earth, Moon, and Sun) must be aligned with each other, and that does not occur very often, due to the inclination.
Why solar eclipse does not occur every time the moon revolves around earth?
The Earth orbits the Sun in a plane that we call the "ecliptic". If the Moon orbited the Earth in that same plane, we would experience eclipses every month. But the plane of the Moon's orbit is about 5 degrees tilted from the ecliptic, and so we only see eclipses at the "nodes" when the Moon's orbital plane crosses the ecliptic at the new or full moons.
How often would solar and lunar eclipses occur?
i believe evry 1oo years but I'm not sure
How would eclipses be different if the Moon's orbit were not tipped with respect to the plane of earth's orbit?
If the moon's orbit were coplanar with the Earth's orbit, then we would see a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse in every cycle of the moon's phases ... for a total of 12 or 13 of each kind every year. Nearly nobody would pay any attention to them, any more than anybody cares much about sunrise and sunset the way things are now.
What would have to happen for a and solar eclipses to occur every month?
The moon would have to be on a flat plane instead of being on a tilt.
Why do you not see a solar eclipse every month?
Solar eclipses occur when the moon comes between the Earth and the Sun, but the moon's orbit is inclined by about 5 degrees to the Earth-sun plane. As a result, the moon's shadow usually misses the Earth during a new moon (when solar eclipses occur), hence they don't happen every month.
What would happen to the frequency of eclipses if the Moon's orbit were not tilted?
If the plane of the moon's orbit coincided with the plane of the earth's orbit (the 'ecliptic plane'), there would be a solar eclipse at every New Moon, and a lunar eclipse at every Full Moon. Nobody would think anything of it. It would be commonplace, just "the way things work", and nobody would even bother to look up. Eclipses would be as boring as the sunrise and sunset are, even though all are equally miraculous.
Can solar eclipses be prevented?
A Solar Eclips Is Natural It Cant be Prevented, but they dont come as often as you would think.. so the only way to prevent one was to move the orbit of the moon
What is the importance of the five degree difference in the orbital planes of the Moon and Earth?
If the plane of the Moon's orbit were not tilted as compared to the ecliptic (the special name used for the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun) then there would be total solar eclipses at every new moon, and total lunar eclipses at every full moon. If the angle between the Moon's orbit and the ecliptic were more than it is, we would see fewer and shorter eclipses than we do.
Why does a lunar or solar eclipse happen only twice per year?
For an eclipse, Sun, Earth and Moon must be aligned. Most of the time, the Moon doesn't pass exactly in front of the Earth (for a solar eclipse) or behind it (for a lunar eclipse), but passes more to the north or more to the south. This is because the Moon's orbit around the Earth is not exactly in the same plane as Earth's orbit around the Sun.
If the Moon's orbit around earth and the earths orbit around the sun were in the same plane what would change would we notice?
If the moon's orbital plane coincided with the earth's orbital plane, there would be a lunar eclipse every month at full moon, and a solar eclipse every month at new moon. We wouldn't think anything of it. That would just be the way things work, no more startling than the daily rising and setting of the sun.
How would solar eclipses be different if the Moon were twice as far from EarthWhy?
If the Moon were at twice its orbital distance, there would be no total solar eclipses, only annular ones. This is because the umbra, the complete shadow of the Moon, would not reach to the Earth. I would have to run the numbers to be certain, but I suspect that there would be no total lunar eclipses, either, for the same reason. However, you would probably be able to see the shadow of the Earth passing across the face of the Moon!
