English: Cosine of mean anomaly of moon at solar eclipses, 2001 through 2040. The curves connect eclipses that are 12 synodic months apart. They do not represent the anomaly between the eclipses, which goes through slightly over 12 cycles. From one eclipse to another 12 months later the mean anomaly decreases by about 360°/7, so in each such series of four eclipses, the mean anomaly follows a sine wave.
The cosine of the anomaly is the main determinant of the distance of the moon and therefore of its size in the sky. The moon is largest when the cosine is 1. On average every 3 years there is a "supermoon" eclipse, with anomaly near zero.
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