A Solar Eclipse is one of the two types of eclipses in which that involve the Sun and Moon. This eclipse occurs when the Moon is in between the Earth and the Sun. They have to be in a perfect line in order for the eclipse to occur. This makes the Moon look like it's glowing. Be careful though, looking at a Solar Eclipse is sort of like looking at the Sun. So don't look at it too long. Don't completely stop looking at them, there will be a Solar Eclipse on August 21st.
There are 3 types of Solar Eclipses: total SE (I'm calling them SEs because I'm too lazy to type 'Solar Eclipse',) partial SE, and an annual SE. During a total SE, the Moon covers up the entire Sun. In a partial one, you guessed it, the Moon only covers up part of the Sun. In an annual SE, the Moon is too far away to cover up the entire Sun, so it leaves the outer part of it still visible.
A Lunar Eclipse, (you guessed it, I'm going to call it LE,) is another type of eclipse. This eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in a line. This time it's different, the Earth is in the middle instead of the Moon. Also, you don't have to worry about your eyes hurting. The sunlight reflects onto the Moon while the Earth is in the way. So when it's night time, we don't have to worry about looking at the sunlight directly.
You may be wondering, "If the Earth is in the way of the Sun, how do we see a LE?" Well, the Sun is pretty big, right? So if the Earth is smaller than the Sun, that means the Moon gets some sunlight. We do not get to see these eclipses every month, though. The Earth's orbit around the Sun is not in the same plane as the Moon's orbit around the Earth, so we have to wait longer than a month.
Credits:
Created with images by NASA Goddard Photo and Video - "NASA's SDO Sees Lunar Transit" • NASA Goddard Photo and Video - "Hinode Observes 2011 Annular Solar Eclipse" • Marcelo J. Albuquerque - "Solar Eclipse 2012" • Skakerman - "Lunar Eclipse, 2014" • DVIDSHUB - "Total Lunar Eclipse" • Maxwell Hamilton - "Moon Penumbra Eclipse in London 25 April 2013" • greeblie - "Lunar Eclipse For My Birthday!" • skeeze - "milky way andromeda stars"