Can a lunar eclipse and a new moon happen on the same day?

Question

My friend thinks it can happen but I disagree with her so I want to give her proof

Answer 1

Both you and your friend needs to do some reading.

A lunar eclipse happens when the moon moves into Earth's shadow.  So the moon has to be behind the Earth, so it would appear full to us (the sun would be shining past the Earth to light up the moon).  A lunar eclipse can ONLY happen during a full moon.

The only regular eclipses can't be seen from Earth - they are the eclipses of the different moons of Jupiter and Saturn, but are not called eclipses (they are called occultations or transits).

There are no regularly-occuring eclipses on Earth.

Lunar eclipses can only happen during a full moon, but due to the moon's orbit not being in line with the sun from our perspective they don't happen every month.

Lunar eclipses happen generally only once (sometimes twice) a year, but it can be several years between them.

Solar eclipses happen when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun (the Earth is in the moon's shadow) and therefore solar eclipses can only happen during the new moon phase.  They are not as common as lunar eclipses.

Answer 2

That can only happen in a movie directed by Mel Gibson.

Answer 3

An eclipse of the Moon (or lunar eclipse) can only occur at Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow. That shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped components, one nested inside the other. The outer or penumbral shadow is a zone where the Earth blocks part but not all of the Sun's rays from reaching the Moon. In contrast, the inner or umbral shadow is a region where the Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon.

Astronomers recognize three basic types of lunar eclipses:

            1. Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

                The Moon passes through Earth's penumbral shadow.

                These events are of only academic interest because they are subtle and hard to observe.

                        

            2. Partial Lunar Eclipse

                A portion of the Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow.

                These events are easy to see, even with the unaided eye.

                        

            3. Total Lunar Eclipse

                The entire Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow.

                These events are quite striking due to the Moon's vibrant red color during the total phase (totality).

Now you might be wondering "If the Moon orbits Earth every 29.5 days and lunar eclipses only occur at Full Moon, then why don't we have an eclipse once a month during Full Moon?" The Moon's orbit around Earth is actually tipped about 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. This means that the Moon spends most of the time either above or below the plane of Earth's orbit. And the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun is important because Earth's shadows lie exactly in the same plane. During Full Moon, our natural satellite usually passes above or below Earth's shadows and misses them entirely. No eclipse takes place. But two to four times each year, the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's penumbral or umbral shadows and one of the above three types of eclipses occurs.

When an eclipse of the Moon takes place, everyone on the night side of Earth can see it. About 35% of all eclipses are of the penumbral type which are very difficult to detect, even with a telescope. Another 30% are partial eclipses which are easy to see with the unaided eye. The final 35% or so are total eclipses, and these are quite extraordinary events to behold.

An eclipse of the Sun (or solar eclipse) can only occur at New Moon when the Moon passes between Earth and Sun. If the Moon's shadow happens to fall upon Earth's surface at that time, we see some portion of the Sun's disk covered or 'eclipsed' by the Moon. Since New Moon occurs every 29 1/2 days, you might think that we should have a solar eclipse about once a month. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen because the Moon's orbit around Earth is tilted 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. As a result, the Moon's shadow usually misses Earth as it passes above or below our planet at New Moon. At least twice a year, the geometry lines up just right so that some part of the Moon's shadow falls on Earth's surface and an eclipse of the Sun is seen from that region.

Answer 4

No.  Lunar eclipses happen when the moon is on the _opposite_ side of the sky from the sun (that's how it's able to be in the earth's shadow); but a new moon happens when the moon is very _near_ the sun in the sky.  It takes two weeks for the moon to swing around from "opposite" to "near" the sun.

> And what are the other eclipses if there are anymore.

Lunar eclipses can be "partial" or "total" depending on whether the moon moves all the way into the earth's shadow or just "sideswipes" it.

Solar eclipses can be "partial" or "total" too.  In a partial solar eclipse, the moon "sideswipes" the sun an never completely covers it.  In a "total" solar eclipse, the moon blocks the sun completely (but only for a few minutes).

There's also something called an "annular" solar eclipse (from the word "annulus" which means "ring").  In that kind of eclipse, the moon passes directly in front of the sun, but is not big enough to block it out completely, so you see a bright ring of sunlight surrounding the dark moon.  Annular eclipses happen when the moon is farther than normal from the earth, which makes its disk look smaller.

Here's an excellent website all about eclipses (including predictions):  (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.htm... )

Answer 5

No, a lunar eclipse can only happen in a full moon, where as a SOLAR eclipse can only happen in a new moon.

to clarify A solar eclipse does not happen every new moon, but the moon must be new for there to be one