As seen from earth, a solar eclipse /ee-klips/ happens when the moon is directly between the earth and the sun. This makes the moon fully or partially (partly) cover the sun. Solar eclipses can only happen during a new moon. Every year there are about two solar eclipses. Sometimes there are even five solar eclipses in a year. However, only two of these can be total solar eclipses, and often a year will pass without a total eclipse.

The area in which an eclipse is total is only a narrow track along the earth. Totality lasts only a few minutes. Outside this path, all eclipses are partial, and places far from the track get no eclipse at all. The track can be predicted many years before it happens.

A total solar eclipse is a natural phenomenon (event). Long ago, solar eclipses were thought to happen because of something supernatural or as a sign that something bad was going to happen. This is still believed in some cultures today. A total solar eclipse can frighten people who do not know what it means, because the sun seems to disappear during the day and the sky turns dark in just a few minutes. Other people like to go to the eclipse path for a good view while wearing special glasses.