1) An eclipse takes place when one heavenly body such as a moon or planet moves into the shadow of another heavenly body. There are two types of eclipses on Earth:
- An eclipse of the moon
- An eclipse of the sun.
2) Most years have 4 eclipses, which is the minimum number of eclipses that take place in a year; 2 of these 4 eclipses are always solar eclipses. While rare, the maximum number of eclipses that can take place in a calendar year is 7.
3) Differences:-
- Solar eclipses happen at new moon. Lunar eclipses happen at full moon.
- Solar eclipses are only visible from a narrow strip of land over which the Moon shadow passes. Lunar eclipses are visible from the whole nighttime hemisphere.
- Solar eclipses can be total, annular, hybrid or partial. Lunar eclipses can be total, partial and penumbral.
- Solar eclipses can only be safely be viewed with the naked eye during totality. Lunar eclipses can always be safely viewed with the naked eye.
- The Moon's surface can't be seen during a solar eclipse, but it can be during a lunar eclipse.
4) Moon phases:
We only see the Moon because sunlight reflects back to us from its surface. During the course of a month, the Moon circles once around the Earth. If we could magically look down on our solar system, we would see that the half of the Moon facing the Sun is always lit. But the lit side does not always face the Earth! As the Moon circles the Earth, the amount of the lit side we see changes. These changes are known as the phases of the Moon and it repeats in a certain way over and over.
5) The moon moves in an orbit around Earth, and at the same time, Earth orbits the sun. Sometimes Earth moves between the sun and the moon. When this happens, Earth blocks the sunlight that normally is reflected by the moon. Instead of light hitting the moon’s surface, Earth's shadow falls on it. This is an eclipse of the moon -- a lunar eclipse.
Sometimes when the moon orbits Earth, it moves between the sun and Earth. When this happens, the moon blocks the light of the sun from reaching Earth. This causes an eclipse of the sun, or solar eclipse. During a solar eclipse, the moon casts a shadow onto Earth.
6) The moon can look red during a total lunar eclipse because of sunlight that's filtered and refracted by Earth's atmosphere.
7) 50% of the lunar surface is always illuminated by Sun. Because half of the moon surface is lit, rest we can't see.
8) When the moon passes between the sun and Earth, it can create a solar eclipse. When the disk of the moon masks the disk of the sun, it creates a total solar eclipse. Lunar eclipses occur when Earth passes between the sun and the moon. During a lunar eclipse, the moon turns dark red due to the deviation of the sun's rays caused by Earth's atmosphere. Lunar eclipses occur more often and last longer.
In the attachment:-
- Solar eclipse
- Lunar eclipse
- Phases of moon
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