If there is a total eclipse of the sun in April, can there be a lunar eclipse three months later in July?

Question

why or why not

Answer 1

No, that would be absolutely impossible.

Eclipses do not happen at random times. They occur only during eclipse "seasons." Each year, there are two eclipse seasons, about 25 weeks apart, or a little under six months apart. These eclipse seasons migrate through our calendar, so in some years there can be three eclipse seasons, in January, June and December.

In 2007, the eclipse "seasons" fell in March and late August/early September. The next one will be February 2008. You can see how two eclipses might fall five months apart. Three months apart, however, is impossible.

Eclipses occur only when sun, moon and earth are aligned in some order. Outside eclipse seasons, however, the moon passes above or below the line of the earth and sun, so that its shadow cannot touch the earth and vice versa. So, if you had an eclipse in April, then three months later the moon would pass so far above or below the line of the earth and sun that one's shadow cannot touch the other.

Answer 2

I would think not. The moon, sun and earth have to line up for either eclipse to occur. I would expect the tilt of the moon's orbit with respect to the ecliptic (the earth's orbit) to be such that an eclipse could not occur until 6 months had passed.
But after a bit more thought, if the first eclipse occurred while the moon was crossing the ecliptic in one direction near the extreme condition, it could do it again 90 days later.
Hummm.
These dates suggest eclipses have to be same month or 6 months apart.
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html

Answer 3

They are generally 30 days apart in one direction or another. Due to the alignment of the three objects in their orbit, which normally has eccentricities.