Eclipses
When three bodies line up
Summary
An eclipse happens when the Earth, Moon and Sun line up. If the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth, there is a solar eclipse; if the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon, a lunar eclipse. See with the model why one does not happen at every new or full moon.
In depth
Because the Moon's orbit is tilted by about 5° to the plane of the Earth's orbit (the ecliptic), the Moon usually misses the shadow axis even when it is at new or full moon. An eclipse happens only when the Moon is near one of the two points where its orbit crosses that plane (the nodes). This alignment produces at least 4 and at most 7 eclipses a year. A total solar eclipse can be seen from a given region, but globally it is rare: the Moon's umbra sweeps only a very narrow band across the Earth's surface. A lunar eclipse, on the other hand, happens in the Earth's large shadow, so everyone on the night side of the planet can see it at the same time.
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