if I recall correctly from astronomy class... the orbit of the moon is canted about five degrees to the plane of the earth-sun orbit. An eclipse of either the earth or moon can only happen two times per year, when the moon crosses that plane. This is dependent on the moon being at the right place in its orbit at the same time it crosses the plane, which is why we dont have an eclipse every 6 months. OR DO WE?? iirc, the earths shadow is big enough that there is always a partial eclipse of the moon every time around -- but it just yellows a bit and no one notices. The moons shadow is much smaller, which is why the eclipses it casts are so much rarer.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:13:41 +0000
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