Lunar eclipses are fairly common sights. There are generally two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses each year.
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.
That's the definition of a partial eclipse. There will be four partial eclipses of the Moon in 2009, but none of them will be visible in North America.
Total lunar eclipses are slightly less common than other varieties. From the NASA Eclipse Web Site: Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 Type Symbol Number Percent All Eclipses - 12064 100.0% Penumbral N 4378 36.3% Partial P 4207 34.9% Total T 3479 28.8%
On earth there are 2 eclipses, Lunar and Solar eclipses
Lunar eclipses are fairly common sights. There are generally two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses each year.
Lunar eclipses can only occur when the moon is in full phase. The least common of these eclipses is a full lunar eclipse.
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.
That's the definition of a partial eclipse. There will be four partial eclipses of the Moon in 2009, but none of them will be visible in North America.
Total lunar eclipses are slightly less common than other varieties. From the NASA Eclipse Web Site: Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 Type Symbol Number Percent All Eclipses - 12064 100.0% Penumbral N 4378 36.3% Partial P 4207 34.9% Total T 3479 28.8%
December 21, 2010. You can view the 5000-year calendar of all eclipses between 2000 BC to 3000 AD at the link below.
Between partial, annular and total eclipses, there is generally one every three years or so. Some times they are more frequent, and sometimes less so.
South America
On earth there are 2 eclipses, Lunar and Solar eclipses
North America
Lunar eclipses, such as the one that will be visible across North America on December 21, 2010, are quite lovely and perfectly safe to look at.For solar eclipses, I recommend an indirect eclipse viewer such as a projection system. These are easy to build from a large cardboard box.NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN. IT MAY BE THE LAST THING YOU EVER SEE.
North America