Oh honey, sit down and let me break it to you gently - the lunar eclipse in July 2018 trifled over parts of Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. People in those areas got to witness the moon showing off its shadow-casting skills. It was a celestial event worth staying up past your bedtime for!
No single eclipse ... solar or lunar ... is ever visible from every place on earth.No single solar eclipse is ever visible from every place or even half of the earth.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow on the Moon. A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, blocking the Sun's light.
During a total eclipse, it is called the path of totalityAn Eclipse.
An eclipse is caused by shadows. A Solar eclipse is the moon's shadow on the Earth, while a lunar eclipse is the Earth's shadow on the moon.The Earth is much larger than the Moon, so the Earth casts a bigger shadow, which lasts longer.In a solar eclipse, the Moon casts a shadow on the Earth; in a lunar eclipse, the Earth casts a shadow on the Moon. The Earth is much bigger and its shadow completely covers the Moon and quite a bit more. The Moon's shadow only completely blocks the Sun over a small bit of Earth's surface.
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.
The likely term sought is "lunar eclipse" -- Earth's shadow over the Moon -- although the orbit of the Moon is an ellipse(oval path).
No. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the Sun and Moon. Earth's orbit is an intangible imaginary ellipse that does not cast a shadow.
More people can see a total lunar eclipse than a total solar eclipse because to see the complete solar eclipse you must be in a locations directly underneath it so your point of view and angle of the moon is correct. It doesn't matter as much as to where you are for a lunar eclipse...
They are about equal in number. The difference is in how many people SEE the eclipse. During a solar eclipse, only people along the path of totality can see the eclipse, and that's a pretty narrow track. For a lunar eclipse, everybody on the night side of the Earth can see it.
Bhutan is right in the path of totality for the total solar eclipse next month, on July 22, 2009. The LAST time Bhutan was in the path of totality was July 9, 1488.
Over the longer time-frames, there are an equal number of lunar and solar eclipses. However, it SEEMS like there are more lunar eclipses, and here's why. A solar eclipse is visible only across a small path along the surface of the Earth, and the Earth is 3/4 water. For example, the total solar eclipse on July 11, 2010 will include a handful of islands across the South Pacific and a tiny slice of South America; not many people will see it. Lunar eclipses happen ON THE MOON, and anybody who can see the Moon - roughly half of the Earth's surface! - will be able to see the lunar eclipse. The total LUNAR eclipse on December 21. 2010 will, weather permitting, be visible from all of North America and the western parts of South America.
If there is a total lunar eclipse, everybody sees it as total. If there is a total solar eclipse, only people in a small part of Earth see it as total - most will see it as a partial eclipse, or not at all.
The next lunar eclipse is on February 9,2009 to find out more visit, http://www.apologia.com/bookextras.You will see a password box in it type Godcreateditall then hit enter and go to lesson 6. You can go to Nasa's page which lists all the upcoming lunar eclipses (for the next 100 years) and where they occur in the world. http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/lunar.html
A total solar eclipse is visible only across a narrow path of the Earth's surface; generally no more than 200 miles across, and sometimes much less. A total lunar eclipse occurs on the Moon itself, and is visible from the entire night side of the Earth.
There will be a total solar eclipse on July 11, 2010, which will be visible along a path across the South Pacific, Easter Island, and the southern tip of South America. There will be a total lunar eclipse on December 21, 2010, which will (weather permitting!) be visible anywhere in North America. You can look up any eclipse from 2000 BCE to 3000 AD on the NASA Eclipse Web Page.
If you are in the path of totality, a solar eclipse is more obvious; it gets dark in the middle of the day. But a total solar eclipse affects only a thin track across the Earth. A lunar eclipse is visible from the entire night side of the Earth, potentially half or more of all humanity. But it happens at night, and isn't as obvious.
A total solar eclipse is visible only across a narrow path of the Earth's surface; generally no more than 200 miles across, and sometimes much less. A total lunar eclipse occurs on the Moon itself, and is visible from the entire night side of the Earth.