The Moon passes between Earth and Sun every month, yet eclipses stay rare: its orbit tilts about 5 degrees, so the shadow usually misses above or below. The shadow has all three cones — the converging umbra, the flaring penumbra and the antumbra beyond the umbral tip — and it is the antumbra that yields an annular eclipse when the Moon is too far to cover the solar disk. An eclipse season opens only when new or full Moon falls near a node.
The Moon passes between Earth and Sun every month, yet eclipses stay rare: its orbit tilts about 5 degrees, so the shadow usually misses above or below. The shadow has all three cones — the converging umbra, the flaring penumbra and the antumbra beyond the umbral tip — and it is the antumbra that yields an annular eclipse when the Moon is too far to cover the solar disk. An eclipse season opens only when new or full Moon falls near a node.
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