Solar Week - Ask a Question



Come here during Solar Week (next one: March 22-26, 2021) to interact. To post a question, click on your area of interest from the topics below, and then click on the "Ask New Question" button. Or EMAIL or tweet or plant in Answer Garden your question about the Sun or life as a scientist to us -- and watch for it to appear here.  You can also visit our FAQs (frequently asked questions). In between Solar Weeks in October and March, you can view all the archives here.

PrevPrev Go to previous topic
NextNext Go to next topic
Last Post 3/21/2011 10:25 AM by  Kris Sigsbee
Eclipses
 2 Replies
Sort:
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Author Messages

Anonymous





Posts:


--
3/20/2011 4:59 PM

    Natalie W

    How does the time compare with total solar vs. lunar eclipses, which is longer?

    Tags: solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, eclipses

    Nancy Ali



    New Member


    Posts:17
    New Member


    --
    3/21/2011 10:18 AM

    A total solar eclipse can never last more than 7 minutes 31 seconds, but usually they are shorter than that. By contrast, a total lunar eclipse can last as long as 107 minutes, although the effects of the lunar eclipse can last up to several hours. A good website for learning more about eclipses is http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html.

    -Nancy Ali


    Kris Sigsbee



    Basic Member


    Posts:415
    Basic Member


    --
    3/21/2011 10:25 AM

    Hi Natalie,

    A solar eclipse is much shorter in duration than a lunar eclipse and it is also visible over a much smaller part of the Earth than a lunar eclipse. Theoretically, the maximum duration of a solar eclipse is about 7 minutes and 30 seconds. However, most solar eclipses are shorter than this. The longest solar eclipse in the 21st century occurred on July 22, 2009 and it lasted 6 minutes and 39 seconds. The period of totality during a lunar eclipse can last for more than 1 hour.

    Lunar eclipses are visible everywhere on the night side of the Earth, while a solar eclipse is only visible in a narrow strip called the eclipse path.

    You can learn more here-

    http://science.nasa.gov/s...longestsolareclipse/

    Kris

    You are not authorized to post a reply.


    Twitter Feed

    Scientist Leaderboard

    Name # of replies
    Multiverse skin is based on Greytness by Adammer