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Why are lunar eclipses so rare?

Best Answers

They're not. There are several a year. Eclipses happen when the place where the earth's and moon's orbits intersect (the nodes) line up with the sun. When that happens we have a so-called “eclipse season” that lasts a bit over a month. read more

Solar eclipses are rare because even though the moon orbits the Earth once a month, it requires a very exact alignment between the Earth, sun and moon to create a solar eclipse. Even when the alignment occurs, the eclipse is limited to a small portion of Earth's surface. read more

It takes three celestial bodies — the sun, moon and Earth — to line up in the exact way at the right time to create an eclipse. read more

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes completely in front of the sun, casting a shadow that darkens a portion of the Earth. Since the moon takes roughly one month to complete a single orbit of Earth, solar eclipses could theoretically happen once a month, too. read more

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