The Ancients believed that Eclipses foretold such events as the birth of a new king or other important person. The Solstice 2001 Eclipse is visible in the South Atlantic Ocean, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, and the Indian Ocean. Eclipses of the Sun or Moon occur when the Earth, Sun and Moon are in alignment. A solar eclipse occurs when the New Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, blocking out the sun's rays and casting a giant shadow on our planet. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Full Moon passes into the shadow of the Earth.
Partial eclipses occur when the moon only blocks out part of the sun.
Those who see a partial eclipse are in the moon's penumbra. This makes a total eclipse possible. As the Earth's orbit around the Sun is not quite circular the Moon may pass in front of the Sun, but the outer ring of the Sun's disk will still be visible. This is called an annular eclipse. During totality, when the light from the bright disk of the Sun is blocked out by the Moon, the sky looks like night with stars and planets clearly visible.