Why don’t we experience an eclipse each month?
Advanced Level Guiding Question
Big Idea 1.1-
Educator Background
We don’t experience eclipses every month on Earth because the orbit of the Moon is tilted with respect to Earth’s orbit around the Sun, causing the Sun-Moon-Earth alignment needed for an eclipse to be less frequent. Eclipses only occur around the time of the equinoxes, which is a direct connection with the different orbital planes of Earth and the Moon.
-
Connect to Heliophysics
Connect to the Sun by having students explore how the motions of Earth and the Moon are controlled by gravity (Newton) and how this determines the duration of eclipses and other variables that affect the appearance of the eclipse, for example the type of eclipse. The elliptical shape of the Moon’s orbit around Earth determines whether we experience an annular or total solar eclipse (Kepler).
Featured Advanced Resources
Explore this guiding question with these featured advanced level resources.
Heliophysics Resource Database
Use the guiding question above to explore resources at this level or go directly to our database to search for resources by level, NGSS performance expectation, topic, and mission.
Resource Database