What are total solar eclipses?

A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon perfectly blocks out the Sun from our view on Earth.

Imagine you're sitting outside on a sunny day, eating an ice cream cone. Suddenly, your friend, who’s as big as the Sun, walks in front of you and covers the whole Sun, like a giant shield. That's what happens during a total solar eclipse! The Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, blocking all the light from the Sun so we can see it as if someone turned off the bright lamp in the sky.

During a total solar eclipse, the sky gets dark, just like nighttime. You might even see stars or the Solar Corona, which is the glowing part of the Sun that you usually can’t see. It’s like when you turn off all the lights in your room and suddenly notice how bright the moonlight is on the floor.

The Moon orbits Earth, and sometimes it lines up just right with the Sun. Because the Moon is about the same size as the Sun, even though they're very far away, it can completely cover the Sun from our perspective. It's like having two cookies of the same size: one in your hand, and one on a plate across the room. If you move your cookie just right, it can block the view of the other one!