They don't. During the 20th Century, there were 228 and 229.
Lunar eclipses seem more common because a lunar eclipse can be seen
from everywhere on the Earth's night side, but a solar eclipse can only be
seen from a relatively narrow strip on the Earth's surface.
Solar eclipses are more common than lunar eclipses.
Lunar eclipses and solar eclipses happen EQUALLY often; about two of each kind per year. However, solar eclipses are visible only across a small path on the Earth, while lunar eclipses are visible from the entire nighttime hemisphere of the planet.
Globally, solar eclipses are slightly more frequent. But a lunar eclipse can be seen from any place where the Moon is above the horizon, whereas a solar eclipse can only be seen from a narrow strip of land. So, for any particular fixed observer, solar eclipses - and especially total solar eclipses - are quite rare. During the 100 years of the 20th Century, there were 228 solar eclipses and 229 lunar ones. So over the long term, you can figure on equal numbers, at the rate of around 7 of each every 3 years.
Most people may think lunar eclipses occur more often because lunar eclipses are visible from a larger geographic area on Earth compared to solar eclipses. Lunar eclipses also last longer and are easier to observe with the naked eye, making them seem more common. However, in reality, both lunar and solar eclipses occur at about the same frequency.
Sometimes there can be more solar eclipses or more lunar eclipses in a given year, but they're pretty even on average. However, because a solar eclipse is only visible along a narrow track on the Earth's surface, whereas a lunar eclipse is visible from anywhere the Moon is visible, it is much more common to SEE a lunar eclipse. ======================================= During the 100 years from 1901 to 2000, there were 228 solar eclipses and 229 lunar ones, for an average rate of about 2.3 of each per year.
They do happen in every state of the USA, you just have to wait for them. Lunar eclipses can be seen from half the Earth (the dark half), so you see more lunar eclipses than solar ones, which are just as frequent but can only be seen from a relatively small area of the Earth's surface.
A lunar eclipse is caused by the moon passing behind the earth in relation to the sun. Lunar eclipses are more common than solar eclipses.
There are generally two lunar eclipses and two solar eclipses each year. Sometimes you will see two partial eclipses instead of one total eclipse; in 2011, there will be four partial solar eclipses, and no total or annular solar eclipses. Since lunar eclipses happen on the Moon, they are visible from the entire night half of the Earth. Solar eclipses, when the Moon's shadow hits the Earth, affect very small areas of the Earth, and so they seem to be more rare. The next total lunar eclipse will happen on December 21, 2010, and will be visible from any point in North America.
Lunar eclipses are observed more frequently than solar eclipses because the Earth's shadow is larger than the Moon's shadow, making it easier for the Moon to pass through the Earth's shadow and create a lunar eclipse. Solar eclipses, on the other hand, occur when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, which is a rarer alignment.
the sun is blocked out in a solar eclipse so it is more noticeable than a lunar eclipse where only the moon is blocked out
They rarely ever happen, and it is cool to watch. (They happen on the average 2.3 times every year, same as lunar eclipses, but they're still cool to watch.) The thing that makes them seem rarer is that a little over half the planet sees every lunar eclipse. To see a solar eclipse, though, you have to be in a very specific region, so for any given spot you're likely to see a lot more lunar eclipses than solar ones.
partial