Solar Eclipses Continental Capers Travel Center Inc. Southern Africa 2001 June 18-29 Home Pages Solar Eclipse Cont.
Some regard eclipses as the cutting off of sunlight by a shadow.
The Sun is about 400 times larger than Fig. Size of Moon and Sun. See Figure 1. However, slight variations in both the Sun's and Moon's distances from Earth can cause the Moon to appear slightly smaller or larger than the Sun. Hence, aside from partial eclipses, there are two basic types of central eclipses of the Sun, annular and total .