Which type of eclipse may be visible to all the people on one side of Earth?

Answer 1

A solar eclipse covers a very narrow path on the Earth, so usually not many people get a chance to see one. It doesn't help that the Earth is 75% water, and some solar eclipses never touch land at all.

Lunar eclipses happen on the Moon, not on the Earth, so the entire night-side of the Earth can see it.

As for how long the eclipse lasts, solar eclipses last longer because the Earth is bigger than the Moon is. However, the path of totality travels quickly over the Earth, and if you're standing on the Earth watching the eclipse, the eclipse will be over - for YOU - quickly, because the Moon's shadow has moved on. If you could be in a supersonic aircraft keeping up with it, you would be able to see that it actually lasts longer, but from one spot on Earth, a solar eclipse comes and goes VERY quickly.

Answer 2

During the 20th Century, there were 228 solar eclipses and 229 lunar ones, which is

about as equal as you can get.

But lunar eclipses are visible over a wider area. So if you stay in one place, you're

more likely to see lunar eclipses more often than solar ones.

Answer 3

Lunar and solar eclipses are equally likely to occur. In fact, you typically get one of each in the same month.

However, lunar eclipses are visible from the entire night half of the Earth. Solar eclipses are visible, if at all, only along a narrow strip of the planet.

So while they are equally likely to occur, you are FAR more likely to see a lunar eclipse than a solar eclipse.

Answer 4

Considering the earth as a whole, solar and lunar eclipses occur just about equally. But any one person or any one place is more likely to be able to see a lunar eclipse.

A lunar eclipse lasts for several hours, and for its entire duration, it is visible to everyone on the night side of earth, i.e. to everyone in any place where the moon is visible.

A solar eclipse lasts a few hours in total, and at any one moment during that time, it is visible only to people within a relatively small portion of the daylight-side of earth.

Answer 5

Unless some part of the moon gets between you and the sun you can not see the solar eclipse. Likewise if the earth does not pass between the sunlight that reflects of the moon and hits your eye you can not see a lunar eclipse.

Since the Umbra, full eclipse region, is smaller than the Penumbra, partial eclipse region, then more people would see a partial eclipse

Answer 6

Partial or penumbral.

Solar eclipses and lunar eclipses are approximately equally common. It's far more common to SEE a lunar eclipse than a solar eclipse, but that's because you can only see a solar eclipse from within a narrow path on the Earth. You can see a lunar eclipse, partial or total, from the entire night-side of the Earth.

About half of all solar eclipses are partial, while the remainder are divided between total and annular. Of lunar eclipses, the most common are partial or penumbral.

Answer 7

Both are equally common but a lunar eclipse can be seen from all of the Earth's dark side, while a solar eclipse can only be seen along a track about 2000 miles wide, so in any given place solar eclipses appear less commonly.

Answer 8

During the 20th Century, there were 228 solar eclipses and 229 lunar ones,

which is about as equal as you can get.

But lunar eclipses are visible over a wider area. So if you stay in one place,

you're likely to see more lunar eclipses than solar ones.

Answer 9

Both types of eclipse occur with identical frequency. during the 100 years of the 20th Century, there were 228 solar eclipses and 229 lunar ones.

Answer 10

lunar because it happens about 120 days after the one before.