Phenomenon
Solar Eclipse
When the Moon stands between Earth and Sun.
Occurs at New Moon when alignment is exact. Types: total, annular, partial, hybrid.
Why it's rare locally
The Moon's shadow is narrow; any given location sees a total eclipse on average once every 375 years.
See also
Lunar Eclipse
When Earth's shadow falls on the Moon.
Nutation
A small nodding of Earth's spin axis.
Van Allen Belts
Earth's twin doughnuts of trapped radiation.
Z Camelopardalis Star
A dwarf nova that gets stuck in 'standstill'.
Meteor Showers
Cosmic dust burning in our atmosphere.
Aurora (Northern/Southern Lights)
Solar wind painting the upper atmosphere.