What is an eclipse?
If the new Moon passes exactly between the Earth and the Sun it prevents the Sun’s light from reaching a small part of the Earth’s surface for a few minutes and an eclipse of the Sun occurs. Outside this area, a partial eclipse rather than a total eclipse is seen – only part of the Sun being blotted out. In the same way, the full Moon sometimes passes exactly behind the Earth, so that the Earth prevents the Sun’s rays from reaching the Moon directly. When this happens, the Moon goes very dim and an eclipse of the Moon has occurred.
