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

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