A solar eclipse occurs when the moon gets between Earth and the sun, and the moon

casts a shadow over Earth. A solar eclipse can only take place at the phase of new
moon, when the moon passes directly between the sun and Earth and its shadows fall
upon Earths surface. But whether the alignment produces a total solar eclipse, a partial
solar eclipse or an annular solar eclipse depends on several factors, all explained
below.
The fact that an eclipse can occur at all is a fluke of celestial mechanics and time. Since
the moon formed about 4.5 billion years ago, it has been gradually moving away
from Earth (by about 1.6 inches, or 4 centimeters per year). Right now the moon is at
the perfect distance to appear in our sky exactly the same size as the sun, and
therefore block it out. But this is not always true.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra (shadow).
This can occur only when the sun, Earth and moon are aligned (in "syzygy") exactly, or very closely
so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can occur only the night of a full moon. The
type and length of aneclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its orbital nodes.
A total lunar eclipse has the direct sunlight completely blocked by the earth's shadow. The only light
seen is refracted through the earth's shadow. This light looks red for the same reason that the sunset
looks red, due to rayleigh scattering of the more blue light. Because of its reddish color, a total lunar
eclipse is sometimes called a blood moon.
Unlike a solar eclipse, which can be viewed only from a certain relatively small area of the world, a
lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for a
few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only a few minutes at any given place, due to the
smaller size of the Moon's shadow. Also unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without
any eye protection or special precautions, as they are dimmer than the full moon.