The Moon is between the Sun and the Earth
The Sun is between the Earth and the Moon
The Earth is between the Sun and the Moon
The Earth casts its shadow on the Moon
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is positioned between Earth and the sun and casts a shadow over Earth. There are four different types of solar eclipses depending on how the sun, moon and Earth are aligned at the time of the event:
- Total solar eclipse: The sun is fully obscured by the moon.
- Partial solar eclipse: The moon doesn’t fully block the sun so only a portion of the sun is obscured. Here the moon appears to take a “bite” out of the sun.
- Annular solar eclipse: The moon is centered in front of the sun but doesn’t cover the entirety of the surface (as seen in a total solar eclipse). A “ring of fire” shines around the moon.
- Hybrid solar eclipse: The rarest solar eclipse is a combination of a total and annular eclipse (sometimes known as an A-T eclipse) and is produced when the moon’s shadow moves across Earth. These begin as one type of eclipse and transition to another.
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