It’s an astronomical phenomenon that happens when the moon hides the Sun for a few minutes.

The Sun is a shining sphere of very hot gas, and its light shines on the side of our planet that’s facing it.

Fortunately, the Earth is spinning round so everyone benefits from the Sun. At the same time, the Earth goes right round the Sun in about a year.

And the moon also goes around the Earth.

To observe a solar eclipse, the Earth, the Moon and the Sun need to be aligned.

Why is this quite a rare phenomenon?

Because the moon and the Earth are not revolving on the same plane. The 3 bodies are only aligned about twice every year.

When that happens, the moon casts its shadow onto small areas of the Earth.