How often does a Solar Eclipse occur at the same place?

Answer 1

Solar eclipses are pretty quick; a half-hour or so of partial eclipse a few minutes - seven minutes, tops - of totality, and a half-hour of decreasing partial eclipse. Lunar eclipses can last much longer. An hour or more of partial eclipse, up to 90 minutes or so of totality, and another hour of partial eclipse.

Every eclipse is different. The differences in the durations are that the Earth's shadow, like the Earth itself, is much larger than the Moon's shadow.

The NASA web page of eclipse details will tell you how long each eclipse will last, depending on your location. See the link below.

Answer 2

There are a minimum of two solar eclipses or two lunar eclipses each year, and

a maximum of five solar eclipses or five lunar eclipses each year. Of these, about

half are "partial" solar eclipses or penumbral lunar eclipses, which aren't generally

visible to the observer without special instruments.

The NASA Eclipse web site lists all the eclipses from 2000 BCE to 3000 CE.

According to the comprehensive lists at that website, in the 20th Century

(years 1901 through 2000), there were 228 solar and 229 lunar eclipses, of

all kinds, averaging 2.28/2.29 per year.

Answer 3

Because during a solar eclipse the Moon's shadow does not cover the entire surface of the Earth (because the Moon is smaller than the Earth) not everyone on Earth will see the solar eclipse as it occurs. Instead, only those living along the path of the Moon's shadow (called the path of totality) will see it. On the other hand, everyone will be able to see a lunar eclipse. Thus, it is far more common for people to see a lunar eclipse at any given location than a solar eclipse. Put another way, the average time between two solar eclipses seen from the same location is about 360 years while the average time between two lunar eclipses seen from the same location is between 6 and 12 months.

The maximum number of lunar eclipses that can occur per year is 3 (minimum 0), and the maximum number of solar eclipses (globally) is 5 (minimum 2). However, these numbers are very rare. On average, there are 1-2 lunar eclipses (partial or total) and 2-3 solar eclipses (partial, annular, or total) each year.

Twice a year, there is a roughly 38 day window of time during which an eclipse could occur. These windows do not occur at the same time every year, so the term "season" does not refer to a particular time during the calendar year (Spring, Summer, etc.). The two eclipse seasons are separated by just under 6 months. Thus, the complete eclipse cycle lasts for roughly 345 days while the calendar year lasts for 365 days, so the eclipse seasons shift earlier and earlier each year - realigning again every 19 years.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow, which can only occur when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun - which would normally be when we would see a Full Moon. Therefore, lunar eclipses can only occur during a Full Moon. Similarly, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun casting its shadow upon the surface of the Earth. This can only occur when the Moon is on the same side of the Earth as the Sun - which would normally be when there is a New Moon. The reason we don't normally get eclipses during Full and New Moons is because the Moon's orbit is tilted with respect to the Earth's orbit. During a Full Moon, the tilted path of the Moon usually takes it above or below the Earth's shadow and thus we get no lunar eclipse and just a normal Full Moon. During a New Moon, the tilted path of the Moon usually makes it such that the shadow of the Moon is cast above or below the surface of the Earth and thus we get no solar eclipse and just a normal New Moon.

However, during the two eclipse seasons the Moon's orbit is titled in such a way that it passes through the Earth's shadow and directly across the line of sight between the Earth and the Sun. If the Moon passes into a Full or New phase during this time an eclipse will occur. If a lunar and solar eclipse occur during the same season, they will be separated by about two weeks (the time it takes for the Moon to move from the opposite side of the Earth to the same side of the Earth as the Sun).

Answer 4

Most of the time, the moon passes over or under the sun. An eclipse can happen only when both the sun and the moon arrive near one of the crossing points (these are called nodes). There are two of these nodes on opposite sides of the sky, one where the moon crosses from south to north, and one where the moon passes from north to south. Since there are two crossing points in the sky, eclipses happen during two "eclipse seasons" separated by about six months. The sun does not have to be exactly on the node when the moon arrives there, only close enough for the moon to block some portion of the sun. This leaves a "window" of about 18.75 days before and after the sun gets to the nodes. During this 37.5-day period, the moon can cause an eclipse. Since the moon takes 29.5 days to go from new moon to new moon, this means that an eclipse of some kind is guaranteed about every six months.

Answer 5

It varies. During the 100 years of the 20th Century (1901 - 2000), there were 228 solar eclipses

and 229 lunar ones, for an average of about 2.3 per year. Any one year may have 2 - 5 of each.

Answer 6

A solar eclipse does not take that long. Most of them are only about 4 to 5 minutes long.
On July 22, 2009 the solar eclipse lasted longer than any will last in the 21st century.
It was 6 minutes and 39 seconds long.

Answer 7

A lunar eclipse can last several hours. The total phase of a solar eclipse can't exceed about 7-1/2 minutes. The recent eclipse on July 22, 2009 featured the longest totality of the 21st Century ... 6-1/2 minutes in eastern Asia.

Answer 8

There are generally two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses each year. Sometimes, depending on the precise alignment of the Sun, Earth and Moon, we will have two partial or penumbral eclipses instead of one total eclipse.

You can see the list of all eclipses between 2000 BC to 3000 AD at nasa.gov.

Answer 9

It all depends on how the sun, moon, and earth line up. Normally once, sometimes twice a year.

Answer 10

No. In any one year, there can be anywhere from one to five solar eclipses,

and there's no pattern to their dates or times.