Lunar vs Solar Eclipse
Lunar eclipse and Solar eclipse are two phenomena that take place in our solar system. These two phenomena are different and hence have to be understood with precision.
The moon moves around the earth, while moving at certain instances it casts a shadow on the earth. The area on the earth where the moon’s shadow falls experiences darkness. This is the main concept involved in the occurrence of an eclipse.
When the moon passes between the sun and the earth, it blocks out the sun and casts a shadow on the earth. When this happens, the sky darkens for a few minutes during the day and you cans see a dark circular patch in the sky where the moon has blocked the sun. This event is called a total eclipse of the sun or in other words it is called a solar eclipse.
On the other hand before understanding the concept of lunar eclipse one should know about the nature of the moon. The moon does not give off light of its own. It reflects the light from the sun. As the moon moves around the earth, we see different parts of the moon’s lighted surface. This is why the moon’s shape appears to change. Since the moon takes about a month to move around the earth, these changes in the moon’s shape repeat every month and are called phases of the moon.
The earth revolves around the sun while the moon revolves around the earth at a slight angle. While making their revolutions, when the sun, the earth and the moon come in a straight line on the same plane , with the earth in between the sun and the moon, the shadow of the earth falls on the moon. This means that sunlight does not fall on the moon during this phase of revolution. The portion of the moon over which light does not fall gets invisible. This is called lunar eclipse.
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