 Why don't we see eclipses every month?

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• Sorry, but no. The rotation of the Moon on its axis has nothing to do with whether or not eclipses occur. Please see my answer if you want to know the real answer.

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  by Glenn Blaylock on July 10th, 2009

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• No, an eclipse is more than just seeing a shadow. An eclipse only occurs when you actually pass into a shadow.

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  by Glenn Blaylock on August 28th, 2008

• Of course, but if the moon weren’t passing into and out of the Earth’s shadow, we wouldn’t have phases at all, right? It just happens v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.

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  by the Otter on August 28th, 2008

• No, that is not why the Moon goes through phases. It is the position of the MOON'S OWN SHADDOW that causes it to go through the monthly cycle of phases (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_phase).
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  Please don't take offense, but it disturbs me how few people understand this simple fact. In an education class that I took several years ago, I saw a video in which a camera crew interviews people coming out of their own college graduations ceremony as well as some of their professors. One of the questions that these people were asked was what causes the phases of the Moon. It really was frightening how few people actually knew the correct answer to this very basic question. (Even the university professors interviewed did not know the correct answer!) I see this as an indicator of just how poor of a job our schools are really doing in educating our students in the sciences.

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  by Glenn Blaylock on August 28th, 2008

• Dang, Glenn. Now that you mention it, that does seem vaguely familiar—not to mention incredibly logical. Thanks for the virtual slap upside the head!

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  by the Otter on August 28th, 2008

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