Because the orbit of the Earth around the Sun and the orbit of the Moon around the Earth don’t occur in the same plane, eclipses only take place during eclipse seasons roughly every six months. During the eclipse season, the lunar node – the line where the Moon’s orbital plane intersects with the Earth orbital plane – aligns or closely aligns with the Sun’s and Earth, so a solar eclipse is formed during the new moon phase and a lunar eclipse is formed during the full moon phase. Two of three eclipses happen every eclipse season, which lasts roughly 31 to 37 days.