A lunar eclipse can be seen from about half the Earth - wherever the Moon is visible when the eclipse occurs.
A solar eclipse can only be seen wherever the Moon's shadow falls on Earth. Note that the Moon is quite a bit smaller than the Earth.
A solar eclipse occurs when the shadow of the moon passes over the surface of the earth. A lunar eclipse occurs when the shadow of the earth passes over the moon. Solar eclipses are less frequent for a few reasons but the main one is that the moon is much smaller than the earth and thus has a smaller shadow - which means less chance for the shadow to pass over the earth.
Averaged over a substantial period of time, the numbers of solar and lunar eclipses
are virtually identical. But your chances of seeing a lunar eclipse are much greater
than your chance of seeing a total solar one, because . . .
-- During a lunar eclipse, the part of the Earth over which it's visible is . . .
the entire night side of the Earth.
-- During a total solar eclipse, the part of the Earth over which it's visible is . . .
a path that's always less than a couple of hundred miles wide.
More people see lunar eclipses than solar eclipses because to see a solar eclipse you have to be within a very small band an the Earth's surface while a lunar eclipse can be seen by all who are on the night side of the Earth.
The lunar eclipse is the Earth's shadow falling on the Moon and the Earth's shadow subtends a greater angle ("is bigger") than the lunar disk, so there are more places more the Moon to "fit." Think of covering a dime with a half-dollar.
A solar eclipse is the Moon covering the Sun and the Moon and Sun - by a remarkable cosmic coincidence - are the same apparent size from the Earth so a near-perfect fit is required. (Covering a dime with another dime) In fact, sometimes the Moon is a little too far away and a bit of the Sun shows even when the centers are perfectly aligned. (Covering a cent with a dime). This is NOT a total eclpse, but an "annular" ("ring") eclipse.
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More importantly, a lunar eclipse happens ON THE MOON, and can be seen from the entire night hemisphere of the Earth. A solar eclipse is the Moon's shadow ON THE EARTH, and can only been seen in a fairly small path across the surface of the Earth.
a total lunar eclipse can be seen anywhere on earth where the moon is visible so you are more likely to see a total lunar eclipse than a total solar eclipse
because moon has to be exactly between sun and moon
You are less likely to see a total solar eclipse because a lunar eclpise can be seen anywhere on earth that the moon is visible. A total solar eclipse however can't
There were no total solar eclipses during 2007. There was one total lunar eclipse, one partial lunar eclipse, and two partial solar eclipses.
If there is a total lunar eclipse, everybody sees it as total. If there is a total solar eclipse, only people in a small part of Earth see it as total - most will see it as a partial eclipse, or not at all.
More people can see a total lunar eclipse than a total solar eclipse because to see the complete solar eclipse you must be in a locations directly underneath it so your point of view and angle of the moon is correct. It doesn't matter as much as to where you are for a lunar eclipse...
From the Moon's surface, you would see a total solar eclipse.
This question was posted on December 19, 2010. The next lunar eclipse is TOMORROW NIGHT, the evening of December 20, 2010. This will be a total lunar eclipse, visible anywhere (weather permitting!) in North America. There will be a partial solar eclipse on May 20, 2012. There will be partial solar eclipses every few years after that. The next TOTAL solar eclipse for Minneapolis, MN will be on September 14, 2099.
a total lunar eclipse can be seen anywhere on earth where the moon is visible so you are more likely to see a total lunar eclipse than a total solar eclipse
A total lunar eclipse can be seen anywhere on Earth where the moon is visible..so you are more likely to see a lunar eclipse than a solar eclipse.
I would rather experience A Moon Total Lunar Eclipse
There were no total solar eclipses during 2007. There was one total lunar eclipse, one partial lunar eclipse, and two partial solar eclipses.
A solar eclipse can only be seen along a narrow strip of Earth's surface. A lunar eclipse can be seen anywhere where the Moon is above the horizon - i.e., about half of the Earth.
A total solar eclipse
2012 May 20: Annular Solar Eclipse 2012 Jun 04: Partial Lunar Eclipse 2012 Nov 13: Total Solar Eclipse 2012 Nov 28: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
If there is a total lunar eclipse, everybody sees it as total. If there is a total solar eclipse, only people in a small part of Earth see it as total - most will see it as a partial eclipse, or not at all.
More people can see a total lunar eclipse than a total solar eclipse because to see the complete solar eclipse you must be in a locations directly underneath it so your point of view and angle of the moon is correct. It doesn't matter as much as to where you are for a lunar eclipse...
Eclipses in 2012 . . . -- May 20 . . . Annular solar eclipse -- June 4 . . . Partial lunar eclipse -- November 13 . . . Total solar eclipse -- November 28 . . . Penumbral lunar eclipse First one in 2013 . . . -- April 25 . . . Partial lunar eclipse
Eclipse.
It's the other way around; more people can see a total lunar eclipse than a total solar eclipse. The reason is that a lunar eclipse happens on the Moon; it is visible from half of the Earth's surface. A solar eclipse occurs along a narrow track across the Earth, and 75% of the Earth's surface is oceans.