A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes exactly between Earth and the Sun. But not every new moon brings an eclipse — the Moon's orbit is tilted 5.14° to the ecliptic. Eclipses only happen near the lunar nodes (intersection points). The Saros cycle (18y 11d 8h) predicts repeating eclipses with the same geometry. The simulator uses Meeus 'Astronomical Algorithms' with 60 lunar terms, verified against real eclipse dates 2025–2027.
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