Why eclipses occur monthly or nearly monthly?

Answer 1

The rotation of the moon (the path it takes when orbiting Earth) is on a tilt, and that makes it so that we don't always have eclipses. For example, for a lunar eclipse to happen, the moon needs to pass straight through Earth's shadow (this counts for solar eclipses as well, just the moon would need to pass across the sun), and because the moon's rotation is on an angle, it doesn't always pass through Earth's shadow.

Answer 2

Eclipses occur about every 6 months because the Moon's orbit is tilted relative to the Earth's orbit around the Sun. This tilt means that the Moon, Earth, and Sun rarely align perfectly for an eclipse. However, because of the Moon's slightly elliptical orbit and the changing distance between the Earth and Moon, eclipses can occur in clusters or "seasons" separated by about 2 weeks.

Answer 3

They aren't. There are generally two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses each year.

With lunar eclipses, everybody on the night side of the Earth can see it.

Solar eclipses SEEM more rare, because only very small paths on the Earth are affected by each solar eclipse. And since the Earth is 3/4 water, there's a good chance that much of the path of the eclipse will be over water.

For example, the next solar eclipse will be on July 22, 2009. The path of totality will start in northern India, cross China to Shanghai, and cover a path across the Pacific Ocean. But it won't be visible at all in the Americas or in Europe.

Answer 4

The sun, moon, and earth do not orbit in the same plane. Most of the time the moon passes over the sun at new moon, or a few degrees below it. Once in awhile the moon slightly intersects the sunlight, causing a partial eclipse. Only on fairly rare occasions does the new moon happen to pass directly between the earth and sun.

When this occurs when the moon is near perigee (closest approach to earth), the sun is completely blocked, and a total solar eclipse occurs. Otherwise, as is more often the case, an annular eclipse results.

Answer 5

They do; usually twice a year, in fact. Sometimes when the Sun-Earth-Moon alignment is not quite precise, we get partial or penumbral eclipses. With lunar eclipses, a penumbral eclipse is not usually noticeable.

For solar eclipses, the path of the eclipse is so narrow that one location on the Earth will rarely experience another eclipse within a century. But there are still two each year.

Answer 6

Over a substantial period of time, eclipses occur at the average rate

of 2.3 solar ones and 2.3 lunar ones every year.

The Moon's orbit is inclined about 5.3 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic.

That's the reason that we don't have a solar eclipse at every New Moon

and a lunar one at every Full Moon.,

Answer 7

The Moon's orbit around the Earth is not in the same plane as the Earth's orbit around the Sun. In consequence, most of the time the Moon will pass too far north, or too far south, from the point where there would be an eclipse.

Answer 8

The Sun, Moon and Earth have to be lined up for eclipses to happen. That does not happen every month.

Answer 9

because it requires the Earth the Sun and the Moon to all line up just right and at the same time and that is a rare thing

Answer 10

Because most of the time a partial solar eclipse ocuurs. Also because it is only in a certain place.