Why do more people see total lunar eclipse than solar eclipse?

Answer 1

It is hard to explain, but in a total lunar eclipse, the earth's shadow covers up the entire lit face of the moon, making it dark. These eclipses can last more than an hour. A large percentage of people on the night side of earth during a lunar eclipse will get to see some part of the eclipse.

With a solar eclipse, the moon's full shadow only covers a narrow band of earth's surface because the moon is much smaller than the earth. The 'path of totality' follows a certain course during the eclipse, at any location the eclipse will remain total only for a few minutes at most, and the path only covers a relatively small total area of the earth's surface.

Answer 2

A lunar eclipse can be seen anywhere where the Moon is over the horizon. A solar eclipse - and especially the total phase of the eclipse - can only be seen in a narrow strip of land.

A lunar eclipse can be seen anywhere where the Moon is over the horizon. A solar eclipse - and especially the total phase of the eclipse - can only be seen in a narrow strip of land.

A lunar eclipse can be seen anywhere where the Moon is over the horizon. A solar eclipse - and especially the total phase of the eclipse - can only be seen in a narrow strip of land.

A lunar eclipse can be seen anywhere where the Moon is over the horizon. A solar eclipse - and especially the total phase of the eclipse - can only be seen in a narrow strip of land.

Answer 3

During any lunar eclipse, everybody who can see the moon in their sky ...

meaning everybody on Earth's night-time hemisphere ... can watch it.

But during a solar eclipse, the only place where it's total is inside a small circle

on the Earth. The circle is never much more that a few hundred miles across,

and it moves across the Earth's surface so fast that no single place can ever

be inside it for more than about 7 minutes.

Answer 4

It is due to the relative sizes of the Earth and the Moon and thus on the shadows that they cast. Since the Earth is about 8000 miles across whereas the Moon is only 2000 miles in diameter, at 250,000 miles (approximate distance between the Earth and Moon) The Earth's shadow is 16 time bigger than the Moon's (4 x 4).

______________________

Solar and lunar eclipses are about equally frequent, averaging a little more than

two per year. it only SEEMS like lunar eclipses are more frequent. Here's why:

A total solar eclipse is only visible along a narrow path, the "path of totality" across the Earth's surface. Partial solar eclipses pass essentially unnoticed by anybody who isn't actively looking for it.

A lunar eclipse, on the other hand, happens ON THE MOON, and is visible from the entire night side of the Earth. FAR more people are in a position to see it, and it is pretty obvious when it happens.

Answer 5

It's not. During the 100 years of the 20th Century, there were 228 solar eclipses

and 229 lunar ones.

But when a lunar eclipse happens, it's visible to everybody on the entire night-time

50% of the Earth, but when a solar eclipse happens, you have to be right on the line

or within a few hundred miles of it in order to see it. So if you stay in one place, you see

lunar eclipses more often than you see solar ones.

Answer 6

This is due to the size of the objects casting the shadows. During a solar eclipse the moon's shadow covers a very small area of Earth - meaning that only a very few people are able to see it. During a lunar eclipse Earth's shadow is cast upon the whole visible portion of the moon - allowing everyone on the nighttime side of the Earth to view it.

Answer 7

In order for there to be a total solar eclipse the moon has to pass right in front of the sun. This alignment is tricky, as the moon at it's closest approach barely blocks out the sun. The moon's orbit is slightly inclined to the earths orbit about the sun, this means that the moon can pass above, or below the sun, from our perspective, entirely missing, or only creating a partial eclipse. This incline means the moon and sun usually fail to align for even a partial eclipse.

This incline also complicates lunar eclipses. Because of this lunar eclipses also don't happen during every full moon. However the lunar eclipse is caused by earths shadow falling on the moon. Earth's shadow, at the point of the moons orbit, is still many times larger than the moon.

This means that the range of possible positions for a lunar eclipse is greater than for a solar eclipse, and so they're more common.

Also, a lunar eclipse is visible and looks the same from everywhere on Earth ... if you can see the Moon, you can see the eclipse. In contrast, since the Moon's shadow is much, much smaller than the entire Earth, only a relatively small spot on Earth experiences a total solar eclipse. As the Earth turns and the Moon moves in its orbit, this spot traces out a (relatively narrow) path on the Earth's surface. If you're not somewhere in that path, no total eclipse for you.

Answer 8

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 in the sky.

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 9

Unlike a lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse can only be seen in a fairly small area.

Answer 10

A lunar eclipse can be seen anywhere where the Moon is over the horizon. A solar eclipse - and especially the total phase of the eclipse - can only be seen in a narrow strip of land.