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A Solar Eclipse occurs when the Moon gets between the Sun and the Earth.

Moon's shadow is much smaller than the Earth's.
Like with a Lunar Eclipse, a Solar Eclipse can be Penumbral, Partial, or Umbral.  However, there are several differences....

• The Moon's shadow covers only a small region (~270 km wide) on the Earth.
• Unlike a Lunar Eclipse, where everyone sees the same phenomenon, what a Solar Eclipse looks like depends on where you are!
• The area covered by the shadow will move as the Moon moves and the Earth rotates (more than 1000 mi/hr!).  This region is called the Eclipse path. Along this path the Umbral phase of the Eclipse never lasts more than 7.5 minutes!
• If the Moon were only a little smaller or further away, we would never see a total solar Eclipse.

Total Solar Eclipse (left).  Only see Corona (extended atmosphere).  Looking at this won't blind you, but EVEN A TINY SLIVER of the Sun's disk WILL!!! (i.e. BE CAREFUL!).

Annular Eclipse (right).  When the moon is near apogee, its shadow doesn't reach the Earth.

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