Why are solar eclipses so short compared to lunar eclipses?

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SUMMARY

Solar eclipses are significantly shorter than lunar eclipses primarily due to the size difference between the Earth and the Moon. The Earth's shadow is much larger than the Moon's, meaning that during a solar eclipse, only a small region of the Earth experiences the Moon's shadow. In contrast, during a lunar eclipse, the Moon remains entirely within the Earth's shadow for a longer duration. This phenomenon is a direct result of the relative sizes and distances of the Earth and Moon.

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Is it just because the moon moves in and out of view quicker than the Earth moving in and out of view as to a lunar eclipse?

I can't find a simpe definition out there?

Thanks!
 
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I think its mostly because the Earth's shadows is significantly larger than that of the moon. In a solar eclipse, the entire sun is only blocked for a small region on the surface of the Earth (i.e. not even the entire Earth is in the moon's shadow). For a lunar eclipse, more than the total moon is covered in shadow (i.e. even if the moon moves a little, it's still entirely in the shadow).
 
That's right. It boils down to the Earth itself being much larger then the moon, so it takes a while for the moon to get through Earth's large shadow. But as Zhermes said above, the moon's shadow doesn't even cover most of the Earth.

Also because the moon is much less nutritious then the sun so the demons have to spend longer eating it before they are full. :)
 
Algr said:
Also because the moon is much less nutritious then the sun so the demons have to spend longer eating it before they are full. :)

:biggrin:
 

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