How are scientists able to so accurately predict things like lunar and solar eclipses?
…and all the answers pop out. The base equations go back to early scientists like Newton and Kepler. Johannes Kepler figured out planetary motion and the rules of how they move. Sir Issac Newton figured out why they move like they do when he came up for the math to predict gravity. This foundation led to years of work and calculation by hundreds of mathematicians and astronomers to boil it down into a usable method. The result is a pile of trigonometric equations and a few tables that you can use to solve to predict the motion of each object in the solar system. This data is compiled into an ephemeris, a table of positions showing where an object or objects will be located. These used to take teams of mathematicians working by hand for
