A solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the sun and the earth, and blocks at least part of the sun's light to an observer somewhere on earth. A solar eclipse can only occur during the time of new moon, and only when the moon is close to a node in its orbit.

Solar eclipses are thought of as being rare; but on average a solar eclipse will occur somewhere on earth about twice a year. An eclipse may be partial, total, or annular. A total solar eclipse implies that at some point on earth, the moon will totally occlude the sun's light for a short period of time. A partial eclipse occurs when part of the sun's disk is obscured by the moon, but implies that there is no point on the earth's surface where the disk is totally covered. An annular eclipse is in effect a total eclipse that occurs when the moon is sufficiently far away from the earth in its orbit that its apparent size is too small to completely obscure the sun's face. When this happens, a ring of fire is visible surrounding the moon at the height of the eclipse.

A total eclipse is the most spectacular sight of the three types of eclipse, for during totality, the outer atmosphere or corona of the sun is visible to the naked eye. This awe inspiring sight is something that will be remembered for a lifetime.

Detailed information on coming solar eclipses can be found in a NASA Web site.

The following table lists all the solar eclipses that will occur up to the year 2006.

   Date            Type        Places Where Eclipse is Visible
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31 May 2003      Annular         North Atlantic,Arctic
23 Nov 2003       Total          Antarctica

19 Apr 2004      Partial         Antarctica, South Atlantic
14 Oct 2004      Partial         North Pacific, Arctic

08 Apr 2005    Annular/Total     Pacific, Central America
03 Oct 2005      Annular         Spain, Africa, Indian Ocean

29 Mar 2006       Total          Africa, Turkey, Russia
22 Sep 2006      Annular         South America, West Africa
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Suggested Further Reading and Reference:

"Eclipse", by David and Carol Allen (Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1987)

"Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses", by Fred Espenak (NASA Reference Publication 1178, 1987)

Material Prepared by Richard Thompson & John Kennewell. © Copyright IPS - Radio and Space Services.