What causes a solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, causing the Moon to partially or fully block the Sun's light as viewed from a certain area on Earth. This alignment of three celestial bodies is known as a syzygy. There are three types of solar eclipses: total, partial, and annular.

1. Total Solar Eclipse: This happens when the Moon completely covers the Sun as viewed from Earth. Only the Sun's corona, which is the outer atmosphere, is visible as a halo around the darkened Moon. This type of eclipse can only be observed from a narrow path on Earth's surface, known as the path of totality.

2. Partial Solar Eclipse: A partial solar eclipse occurs when only a part of the Sun is obscured by the Moon. Observers in this case see the Sun with a bite-like chunk missing.

3. Annular Solar Eclipse: In an annular eclipse, the Moon is too far from Earth to completely cover the Sun. This results in a ring of sunlight being visible around the Moon's silhouette, often referred to as the "ring of fire."

Solar eclipses only happen during a new moon, when the Moon is directly in line with the Sun and Earth. However, not every new moon results in a solar eclipse, because the Moon's orbit around Earth is tilted relative to Earth's orbit around the Sun. Thus, the Moon usually passes above or below the Sun from our perspective on Earth. Only when the orbits align correctly at the new moon can a solar eclipse occur.