What is the difference between a solar and lunar eclipse?
Question:
Answer:
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the earth and the sun. From our perspective, this looks like the moon is covering up the sun.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth moves between the moon and the sun. The earth's shadow covers the moon and the moon appears to grow dark
This page explains everything.
Solar means sun, lunar means moon.
Solar Eclipse - On some new moon days (Not on every new moon day) the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth. So there is an opaque medium in front of the light source Sun. Thus, the shadow of the Moon falls on the Earth. Where is the darkest shadow, there can get no light of Sun. It's the umbra. The sun is seen fully covered by the moon from this region. There is TOTAL eclipse. But where on the Earth the light of sun comes partially, there is a light shadow of the moon. This is called the Penumbra Area. So the sun is seen partially. It's called a PARTIAL eclipse. Sometimes only the Edge is seen. It's called ANNULAR Eclipse.
Lunar Eclipse- Similarly sometimes earth is the opaque medium between Sun & Moon on SOME full moon day and they are in a straight line. When the shadow of the earth falls on the moon it's called a lunar eclipse. When the moon is in fully earth's umbra it's a Total Eclipse. When it's partially in umbra and partially in penumbra, it's called a partial eclipse .
That's all!
SOLAR Eclipse
The Monn passes inbetween the Sun and the earth and covers the face of the Sun
LUNAR Eclipse
The Earth passes inbetween the Sun and the Moon such that someone notionally on the sun could not see the face of the Moon.
Given if the earth moon and sun were in a straight line,
they would happen twice a month , one lunar (earth between
moon and sun) at full moon, and one 2 weeks later at new
moon (solar eclipse). But they are not as the Sun and earth
have their own orbit tilt, and the moon and earth have their
own orbit tilt. So you are looking at three different planes
of orbit. Now there is a time when these orbits cross each
other and that point is called a node. So when the earth
moon and sun hit at a node, an eclipse happens.
The Earth shadow is expanse due to size and distance from
the sun. Consequently, the moon enters the earths shadow
(lunar eclipse) a lot more frequent than the moon shadow
hitting the earth (solar eclipse) but is usually partial
and not a total eclipse.
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