A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth that either fully or partially blocks the Suns light in some areas. The alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth must be nearly perfect for a solar eclipse to occur, which is why they are relatively rare events that usually happen twice a year. There are three types of solar eclipses:

• Total solar eclipse: This occurs when the Moon completely covers the Sun, and it can only take place when the Moon is near perigee, the point of the Moons orbit closest to Earth. You can only see a total solar eclipse if youre in the path where the Moon casts its darkest shadow, the umbra.

• Partial solar eclipse: This occurs when the Moon only blocks part of the Suns light, and it is visible from a larger area than a total solar eclipse.

• Annular solar eclipse: This takes place when the Moons disk is not big enough to cover the entire disk of the Sun, and the Suns outer edges remain visible to form a ring of fire in the sky. An annular eclipse of the Sun takes place when the Moon is near apogee, and the Moons antumbra falls on Earth.

During a solar eclipse, the Moons shadow creates a trail as Earth rotates, which is called the path of totality. If you want to experience total darkness during an eclipse, you have to be in the path of totality. In that path, the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s light for a few minutes. It gets so dark that it looks like night time during a full Moon. Solar eclipses are natural phenomena that have been observed and studied for centuries. In some ancient and modern cultures, solar eclipses were attributed to supernatural causes or regarded as bad omens.