Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the Sun, and the moon's shadow falls on the Earth.

The moon's shadow doesn't cover the whole Earth, so the eclipse can only be seen from certain places.

On July 11, 1991, a solar eclipse was visible in Mexico.

Click one of the links below to see an animation of the eclipse.

From the Sun, looking toward Earth

From the Moon, looking toward Earth

From Earth, looking at the Sun


The animated movies were created using
the Starry Night astronomy program.