A solar eclipse may be complete or partial, depending
where on the earth the viewer is, and how close the moon is to the earth.
The shadow cast by the moon has a dark centre and fuzzy
edges. Points on the earth that lie in the path of the deep [blue]
shadow (remember the earth is also rotating) will experience a total eclipse,
seeing only the sun's corona.
Points on the earth that lie in partial fuzzy [purple]shadow
will experience a partial eclipse. Try to imagine how the sun would appear
from one of these points.
Find out
!
Sometimes a special type of solar eclipse happens. The
moon is a little further away from earth in it's eliptical orbit. The moon's
deepest shadow does not reach earth. The sun appears to be a ring with a dark
hole in the middle, like a donut.