What occurs during a solar eclipse?

Answer 1

In the most basic terms, the moon needs to be positioned between the earth and the sun, so that the moon's shadow falls on the earth. The phenomenon is described nicely at http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html Hope this is useful! --Bill Pardue Arlington Heights Memorial Library http://www.ahml.info Librarians--Ask Us, We Answer!

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Answer 2

During a solar eclipse, the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun.

The word eclipse means "to block out". During a solar eclipse, the light from the Sun is blocked (completely or partially) as the Moon's shadow crosses the Earth. The relative positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon determine the extent of the eclipse, and only a relatively small area (the width of the Moon) can be in complete shadow, and then only for a few minutes.

Being closer to the Earth than the Sun, the Moon appears to be approximately the same size as the much larger Sun, making a total eclipse possible.

Answer 3

During a solar eclipse, the shadow of the Moon falls on the Earth and blocks out the Sun for a few minutes.

There are generally two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses each year, depending on the precise arrangement of the Sun, Earth and Moon. But because the Moon's shadow is quite small compared to the Earth, only small areas on the Earth can experience a solar eclipse.

Answer 4

After a few minutes - no more than 10 minutes - the Sun comes back out and the eclipse is over. The next solar eclipse will affect some other part of the Earth, in about 6 months.