human
Could you explain why the solar eclipse happens?
assistant
The solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking out the Sun's light from reaching the Earth. As the Moon orbits the Earth, at certain points (called nodes) it will come directly between the Sun and the Earth and it is at these nodes that the eclipse will occur. This happens because the Moon's orbit around the Earth is slightly tilted with respect to the Earth's orbit around the Sun. When the two orbits line up just right, the Moon blocks out the Sun's light and casts a shadow onto the Earth.