By a cosmic coincidence, the apparent sizes of the disk of the Moon and the disk of the Sun are approximately the same when seen from Earth. If the Moon’s orbit lay exactly in the plane of Earth’s orbit around the Sun, a solar eclipse would occur somewhere on Earth every month at new moon. However, solar eclipses occur only about 2 to 5 times a year. Partial eclipses, when the Moon only partially covers the disk of the Sun, happen more often than total eclipses.
- cosmic [ˈkɔzmik] adj.宇宙的
- coincidence [kəuˈinsidəns] n. 巧合
- approximately [əprɔksiˈmətli] adv.大约
- lay [lei] v. 位于
- plane [plein] n. 平面
- eclipse [iˈklips] n. 食
- occur [əˈkə:] v. 出现，发生
- solar eclipse [ˈsəulə - iˈklips] n.日食
- partial eclipse [ˈpɑ:ʃəl - iˈklips] n.偏食
- total eclipse [ˈtəutəl - iˈklips] n.日全食
