Why a solar eclipse occurs during a new moon?
We recall that, as the moon revolves around Earth, we see different amounts of its lighted side. The amount of light that we see depends on the position of Earth and the moon in relation to the sun. Earth, moon and sun appear in a straight line during a new moon. At this time, the moon is between the sun and Earth. In this position, the moon blocks sunlight, the sun casts the moon’s shadow on Earth. But solar eclipse does not happen every month when there is a new moon. This is because the moon’s orbit is a little bit tilted to the earth’s orbit around the sun. As a result, the shadow of the moon falls into space and not on earth.
