How long does an entire solar eclipse last?

Answer 1

Lunar Eclipses:

The time of a total lunar eclipse can last an hour or more, with the partial phases adding as much as another two to three hours. For example, the total eclipse of the Moon on Feb. 20-21, 2008, lasted a little less than three and a half hours from the beginning of the partial phase, through the totality, to the end of the partial phase. Totality in this case was about 50 minutes.

The duration depends on whether the Moon passes through the center of the Earth's shadow, and the distance between the Moon and Earth at the time (which affects the size of Earth's shadow). Lunar eclipses are more frequently seen because everyone on the night time half of the Earth are in position to view a lunar eclipse.

Solar Eclipses:

For a solar eclipse, the maximum theoretical duration is 7 minutes, 40 seconds (some believe 7 minutes, 31 seconds), but in any case, the maximum duration can only occur, or be observed at the equator.

The partial phases add considerably more time, so that the entire eclipse, seen from any given location, can last several hours. However, the partial phases of a total solar eclipse are much less noticeable to the ordinary observer, and might be missed entirely.

Related information:

Total solar eclipses from any given location are more rare than total lunar eclipses (about once every 360 years, on average) because observers must be located along a specific path on the Earth (where the Moon's shadow falls).

There were two solar eclipses in 2008, and two in 2009. Far fewer people in general will view solar eclipses than the lunar eclipses due to the restrictions mentioned above.

The shortest total solar eclipse for the period, 2,000 BCE to 3,000 CE was in the year 919 CE. It lasted for 9 seconds.

The rate of occurrence for total eclipses of 7 minutes or longer, is 10 per millennium, or an average of one for every 100 years. The last occurred 6/20/1955 (7 minutes, 8 seconds). The next, 231 years from the last, will occur 7/16/2186 and have a duration of (7 minutes, 29 seconds). This will be the longest, stationary observation of a total solar eclipse.

Answer 2

The duration of "total eclipse" is typically four to five minutes, but can last as much as 7.5 minutes. When the moon first begins to pass between the sun to the end can be as little as a few minutes for a small partial eclipse to a couple of hours for a full annular eclipse.

Most of the partial eclipses I have seen cut a swath from the sun over the course of about an hour.
7 minutes 31 seconds

Answer 3

An entire solar eclipse can last for up to 7.5 minutes, with the total eclipse phase lasting only a few minutes at any given location along the eclipse path. The entire event, including partial phases, can last for a few hours.

Answer 4

A total solar eclipse can never last more than 7 min 31 s, and is usually much shorter.

From the ground, the longest totality possible is about 7.5 minutes. This can be extended substantially by flying along the path of the eclipse; however, since the moon's shadow is moving at over 1,000 mph (1,700 kph), it would take a jet traveling at around Mach 1.5 to stay centered over the totality for the full duration of the eclipse.

Again, because of the speed of the moon's shadow, no solar eclipse can last more than about 3 hours from start to finish.

Answer 5

If you're standing in one place where the total solar eclipse is visible, then the total

phase can never be longer than 7minutes 31seconds, but they're usually much shorter.

There are typically 10 or fewer total eclipses over a 1,000-year period that exceed

7 minutes.

That's if you stay put in one place while the 'spot' of totality passes over you. But

the spot is sweeping along a track on the earth's surface, usually from west to east.

It stays in contact with the surface for several hours, and at every moment during

that period of time, the sun is totally eclipsed for anyone who happens to be located

exactly where the spot is at that moment.

So the total phase of the eclipse lasts several hours as far as the earth's whole surface

is concerned, but never more than 7.5 minutes in any one place.

Answer 6

If you are standing in one place, in the optimum path of totality, the maximum time the total phase for any solar eclipse is 7 minutes 29 seconds. The partial phases before and after are about 80 minutes each.

For annular eclipses, the longest eclipse is 12 minutes 23 seconds.

Answer 7

A solar eclipse can last for several hours, but you would need to be flying in a supersonic jet to experience it. For example, a recent total solar eclipse was on July 22, 2009, and the path of totality began in India at 0001, and ended in the middle of the Pacific Ocean five hours and 8 minutes later. Any stationary observer would have seen the eclipse as taking about 1.5 hours from beginning to end, with 6 minutes of totality in the middle of it.

Answer 8

The longest duration for a total solar eclipse is 7.5 minutes.

Answer 9

A solar eclipse lasts about 15 minutes

Answer 10

solar: 2 minutes

Lunar: 12 hours