Remembering the Difference. a year ago 14741 views by Nixon Aswani The questions around the lunar eclipse 2018 have been bagging the minds of many people for years. Eclipse \i klips′\ (n): the total or partial obscuring of one heavenly body by another.— Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary There’s nothing wrong with the above definition of an eclipse, but it doesn’t begin to convey the thrill and excitement that takes hold of eclipse chasers when … "Mr Eclipse" explains everything you need to know. See how to safely observe a solar eclipse with this Space.com infographic. There are 2 reasons for this: A solar eclipse is only visible from a limited path on Earth, while a lunar eclipse is visible from every location on the night-side of the Earth while it lasts. The solar eclipse that’s set to occur on Sept. 1, 2016 has everyone all fired up, and with good reason. Solar eclipse safety. The rarest date is February 29th, but after adjusting for how often Feb 29 happens, it is about as likely a date for a solar eclipse as any other. That's two totalities for every three years. In 2008, there was an annular eclipse visible in Antarctica, with it accompanying partial eclipse seen in new Zealand and southeastern Australia. That's another story altogether. At least two, and up to five, solar eclipses occur each year; no more than two can be total eclipses. How does lunar eclipse happen and how often does it occur? The real rarest date is December 10th (23 times in 5000 years). You should never look directly at the sun, but there are ways to safely observe an eclipse. On average, there's approximately one total solar eclipse every 18 months, when: It is New Moon. Totality can range from a few seconds to 7.5 minutes. The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century took place on July 22, 2009 when the totality lasted 6 minutes and 39 seconds. In some years, there can be as many as five solar eclipses. Unlike solar eclipses, lots of people get to see each lunar eclipse. However, many of these events can be seen only from remote locales where travel is difficult. Because they don’t happen every month, a lunar eclipse is a special event. You can only see a total solar eclipse if you're in the path where the Moon's casts its darkest shadow, the umbra. Quite the contrary. It’s easy to get these two types of eclipses mixed up. Total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 In addition to a full moon in a total lunar eclipse, the Jan. 31 moon will be a blue moon (aka the second full moon to happen in one month, following the Jan. 1 full moon), as well as a super moon. According to the website Time and Date, it takes approximately 375 years for a total solar eclipse to occur again in the exact same location. So over the long term, a solar eclipse would occur on the summer solstice once every 143.9 years on average. In terms of the United States, the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse is the first to traverse the country in nearly a century. Unlike solar eclipses, lots of people get to see each lunar eclipse. Total solar eclipses are nevertheless rare at any particular location because totality exists only along a narrow path on the Earth's surface traced by the Moon's umbra. It’s an annular solar eclipse, which is often referred to as a “ring of fire” eclipse. If you live on the nighttime half of Earth when the eclipse happens, you’ll be able to see it. Solar eclipses, when the Moon totally or partially blocks out the Sun, still seem to many people a random and almost magical phenomenon.