Solar eclipse of July 11, 2010
The total solar eclipse of July 11, 2010 occurred over the southern Pacific Ocean. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide.
Totality from Hao, French Polynesia
Time lapse images of the eclipse as seen from Viña del Mar, Chile
Image: Solar eclipse 2008Feb 07 New Zealand partial Greg Hewgill
Image: Novosibirsk Total Eclipse Photo cropped
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season in its new moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of Earth's orbit. In a total eclipse, the disk of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon. In partial and annular eclipses, only part of the Sun is obscured. Unlike a lunar eclipse, which may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth, a solar eclipse can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world. As such, although total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth every 18 months on average, they recur at any given place only once every 360 to 410 years.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon completely covers the Sun's disk, as seen in this solar eclipse. Solar prominences can be seen along the limb (in red) as well as extensively the coronal and partly the radiating coronal streamers.
An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is too far away to completely cover the Sun's disk (October 14, 2023).
During a partial solar eclipse, the Moon blocks only part of the Sun's disk (October 25, 2022).
Partial and annular phases of the solar eclipse of May 20, 2012