Study the occurrences of solar and lunar eclipses with this tool. Solar and Lunar Eclipse Model simulates the occurrences of solar and lunar eclipses. Moon's orbital inclination of 5.145 degrees with respect to the ecliptic (the Earth-Sun orbital plane) is what is responsible for solar and lunar eclipses not occurring every month. In addition, the orbital plane of Moon precesses every 8.85 years, the so-called precession of the apsides. The inclination, precession, and the motion of Moon and Earth are depicted (the size of Sun, Earth, and Moon and the size of Moon's orbit are not shown to scale). The illuminated sides of Earth and Moon and the regions of possible eclipses (in yellow and green) are also depicted. In the Ecliptic View, the motion of Sun and Moon across the sky (+/- 7 degrees from the ecliptic) are shown. Moon's phase is shown and solar and lunar eclipses can occur on the ecliptic when Earth, Sun, and Moon line up properly. This simulation is part of a sequence of simulations used to introduce students to the motion and phases of Moon. Additional simulations can be found on the OSP ComPADRE site.

Requirements:
* Java

The license of this software is Freeware, you can free download and free use this graphing software.