<p>Consider how far the pleiades are above the ecliptic, and how far the moon travels in a day.  From this you can work the angle at which the moon must travel relative to the ecliptic, in order to cross the eliptic within a day.</p>
<p>You can then compare this with the actual inclination of the moon's orbit to the ecliptic, and that will tell you if an eclipse is possible.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-10T19:53:27.027Z
2021-08-10T19:53:27.027Z
Dr Chuck
<p>I'm trying to solve this task:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Suppose today there is a covering of the Pleiades star cluster by the Moon. Could there be an eclipse of the sun tomorrow? The moon?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I think the answer to both is no, because Pleiades are located above the ecliptic, but I'm not sure. Could someone provide an explanation please?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-10T15:59:35.207Z
Not an answer here, but there may be some helpful information in [this answer to *When are the planets occulted by the sun?*](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/28263/7982) There's a GIF from SOHO images of the Pleides shooting past the Sun.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-10T23:35:45.523Z
Can you add some numbers to your question? What is the Pleiades' ecliptic coordinates and what is the (mean) inclination of the Moon's orbit?
Peter Mortensen
<the-moon><solar-eclipse><lunar-eclipse><ecliptic>
Could there be an eclipse tomorrow if the Pleiades is covered by the Moon tonight?
ALiCe P.
# Could there be an eclipse tomorrow if the Pleiades is covered by the Moon tonight?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-08-10)

I'm trying to solve this task:

> Suppose today there is a covering of the Pleiades star cluster by the Moon. Could there be an eclipse of the sun tomorrow? The moon?

I think the answer to both is no, because Pleiades are located above the ecliptic, but I'm not sure. Could someone provide an explanation please?

**Tags:** the-moon, solar-eclipse, lunar-eclipse, ecliptic

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Not an answer here, but there may be some helpful information in [this answer to *When are the planets occulted by the sun?*](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/28263/7982) There's a GIF from SOHO images of the Pleides shooting past the Sun.  
> **username_2**: Can you add some numbers to your question? What is the Pleiades' ecliptic coordinates and what is the (mean) inclination of the Moon's orbit?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2021-08-10. Score: 12 | Accepted answer

Consider how far the pleiades are above the ecliptic, and how far the moon travels in a day. From this you can work the angle at which the moon must travel relative to the ecliptic, in order to cross the eliptic within a day.

You can then compare this with the actual inclination of the moon's orbit to the ecliptic, and that will tell you if an eclipse is possible.


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