As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, it follows a path that changes with the seasons. During winter the sun's highest point in the sky is quite low. During the summer the sun gets much higher and provides more direct, concentrated heating. Solar eclipses occur when the sun is partially or completely obscured by the moon. They tend to be much more dramatic than lunar eclipses and are much more popular.
Lunar eclipses occur when earth's shadow obscures sunlight cast on the moon.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon lies directly between Earth and the Sun. The Moon casts a shadow on the Earth, obstructing our view of the Sun. Solar eclipses occur during the new Moon phase. A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth lies directly between the Moon and Sun. A lunar eclipse does not occur during every full Moon because the Moon's orbit is tilted five degrees from Earth's orbit around the Sun.