A total solar eclipse is when the Moon and Sun are just the right place and distance away from each other when the Moon FULLY covers the Sun. A partial solar eclipse is when the Moon isn't quite in the right place or isn't near enough to the Earth to cover the Sun to the full.
A solar eclipse may be partial, total, or annular.
There are four different types of solar eclipse, namely Partial eclipse, Annular eclipse, Total Eclipse and Hybrid Eclipse. A partial solar eclipseoccurs when only part of the Sun is covered by the Moon which appears to take a "bite" out of the Sun.
It is as your question states, partial solar eclipse - the moon only blocks the sun off from earth partially. Total solar eclipse - the moon completely blocks the sun off from earth.
-- During a partial solar eclipse, part of the sun is obscured from our view (by the moon) and the rest of it is still there. -- During a total solar eclipse, the entire disk of the sun is obscured from our view (by the moon).
You will see a partial eclipse if you are in the penumbra.
For the Earth as a whole, partial solar eclipses are slightly more commonthan total ones.For any one location on Earth, partial solar eclipses are far more commonthan total ones.
Yes, it is possible to see a total or partial solar eclipse on earth in an area within the penumbra.
Here are the eclipses scheduled by the IAU for 2011:Jan 04: Partial Solar EclipseJun 01: Partial Solar EclipseJun 15: Total Lunar EclipseJul 01: Partial Solar EclipseNov 25: Partial Solar EclipseDec 10: Total Lunar Eclipse
The umbra is associated with a total eclipse, penumbra with partial.
Annular, total & partial
To see a total solar eclipse, yes. However, you need only be in the penumbra to see a partial eclipse.
In that case, a Solar Eclipse occurs. It can be a partial or total eclipse depending on the positions at the time of the eclipse. In total Solar Eclipses, the sun is completely blocked out for a short time in some parts of the world. Likewise, Earth's shadow falling on the Moon is known as a lunar eclipse.