How is a Solar Eclipse caused and How often do they occur?
The way a Solar Eclipse is caused, is the Moon passes through the Earth and the Sun causing it to block out the Suns UV rays at a specific area on the earth, the Moons is able to block it out is due to the fact that the Moon orbits around our planet causing the Sunlight to be blocked off. Solar eclipses can occur 2-5 times within a year, however a majority of them would be just Partial Eclipses, Total eclipses occur once every 1 and a half years and only cover a small radius, and the maximun time frame would be around 6-7 Minutes.
How is a Lunar Eclipse caused and How often do they occur?
A lunar eclipse is caused by when the moon passes directly behind the earth into its umbra (Its shadow). This can only happen if the sun, earth and the moon are united exactly as one to make a lunar eclipse. The lunar eclipse can only occur at night (full moon). The type and the size of a lunar eclipse depend upon the moon`s location relative to Its orbital nodes.The lunar eclipse occurs every 6 months, when the moon passes through the shadow of the earth. The cycles of the moon`s orbit determines whether an eclipse is part or total. The most amount of lunar eclipses that can occur in a year are 3 lunar eclipses.