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Explorations an Introduction to Astronomy Thomas T. Arny | ||||||||
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Chapter
Images
Chapter 6, Figure 16
Figure
6.16
The Moon's
orbit keeps
approximately the same orientation as the Earth
orbits the Sun. Because
of its orbital tilt, the Moon generally
is either above
or below
the Earth's
orbit. Thus the Moon's shadow
rarely hits the Earth,
and the Earth's shadow
rarely hits the Moon,
as you can see in (A) and (C). Eclipse seasons
occur when the Moon's orbital
plane “points” at the Sun. A solar
eclipse will then occur
at new moon and a lunar
eclipse at full moon,
as you can see in (B) and (D).
