Why can many more people witness a total lunar eclipse than a total solar eclipse?

Question

Why can many more people witness a total lunar eclipse than a total solar eclipse?

Isn't it because a lunar eclipse occurs more often than a solar eclipse or something?

Answer 1

The total lunar eclipse does occur more often, simply because it's caused by the shadow of the Earth falling on the Moon and the Earth is larger than the Moon.

But total lunar eclipses are visible from the entire side of the Earth that happens to be facing the Moon; whereas total solar eclipses are only visible from the narrow path on Earth's surface where the Moon and Sun line up exactly. That's the real reason why total solar eclipses are so seldom seen.

Answer 2

Lunar eclipses occur 2-3 times a year, while solar eclipses occur only twice a year. Also, lunar eclipses are completely safe to view with the naked eye, while with a solar eclipse, you can only look at it for so long before the sun comes out again and practically blinds you.

Oh, and lunar eclipses are apparently capable of being seen by more regions at the same time (usually the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia), while solar eclipses have a much narrower range over different regions that varies a lot.

Answer 3

Take a flashlight and shine it onto a wall. Now put your hand about halfway between the two. Your hand makes a shadow, but some of the light beam still hits the wall. This is what the moon does to the Sun during a solar eclipse. It casts a shadow onto the earth's surface. Now, look at the flashlight from directly behind your hand--can't see it. Look at flashlight from the side of your hand, can see it. Only those in the moon's shadow get the effect of a "total solar eclipse".
Now, put the wall between the flashlight and your hand. The wall (of course) totally obscures the flashlight's light from hitting your hand. Since the earth is bigger than the moon, it can obscure light from hitting the entire moon. Anyone that can see the moon at that time i.e. the half of the planet that is facing the moon is in the shadow and can see the "total lunar eclipse".

Answer 4

A lunar eclipse is the moon, the solar eclipse is the sun, and we are told growing up not to look directly at the sun.More people are able to experience the lunar eclipse because of this.

Answer 5

Actually, lunar eclipses are slightly LESS frequent than solar eclipses, but a lunar eclipse places the entire Moon in the shadow of the Earth, so anyone on the half of Earth facing the Moon at the time of eclipse can see it. In a solar eclipse, the Moon's shadow is only a small spot on the Earth, the entire Earth is not in shadow, so only people in that tiny spot can see it.

Answer 6

Partly, sure. Lunar eclipse are more common, but they're also "bigger." A solar eclipse is when the moon is aligned just right to block our view of the sun. it's barely big enough to do that at all, so a very limited viewing area sees that effect.
A lunar eclipse is when there would otherwise be a full moon, according to its phase, but the Earth's much huger shadow blocks that out. It lasts longer and is visible from anywhere you would otherwise be able to see the moon - pretty much a whole hemisphere.

Answer 7

the earth is bigger than the moon, so in a lunar the earth blocks the moon easier than in a solar where the moon blocks the sun

Answer 8

because the moon is smaller the sun.