A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon
comes between the Sun and the Earth,
blocking the Sun from our view. In a total
solar eclipse, the Moon blocks out the Sun
from our view completely. In a partial eclipse,
however, a part of the Sun is visible. During
an annular eclipse, we can see a small ring of
the Sun glowing around the Moon. When the
Moon is nearer to the Earth it appears larger
and therefore covers the Sun completely,
although it is actually much smaller than the
Sun. However, in an annular eclipse the
Moon is too far away from the Earth to block
the Sun out totally and therefore a ring of
sunlight is seen.