When does a solar eclipse form?

Hello Leia, Thank you for your great question. To understand the difference, we need to first define the different terms. Lunar, relates to the moon as it's from the Latin word 'Luna' meaning the moon. Solar relates to the sun from \latin origins too. Finally, eclipse means the obscuring of the light coming from a body in space. Second, we need to understand how we see the sun and the moon in order to comprehend how the light coming from them can be obscured. A simple experiment you can do at home may start giving you the answers you are looking for: Using a flashlight (the sun) on a table pointed at you (the Earth) while you are standing at a distance from it, hold a ball (the Moon) and rotate it around you at waist level. If you would like, I could send you sketches of the experiment results, or better discuss it with you in person helping not confuse the concepts ever again.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, blocking the sun's light and casting a shadow on Earth. Solar eclipses can only occur during a new moon when the moon is in the right position to block the sun. However, not every new moon causes a solar eclipse because the moon's orbit is tilted with respect to the Earth's orbit around the sun. This means that most of the time, the moon's shadow misses the Earth, and a solar eclipse does not occur.