Discussion
A solar eclipse occurs when
Answer: C
Correct answer: The Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth
A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth and casts its shadow on the surface, blocking the Sun from view along a narrow track. It is possible at all only because of a coincidence: the Sun is about 400 times wider than the Moon and also about 400 times further away, so the two appear almost exactly the same size in the sky. A solar eclipse can occur only at new moon, and a lunar eclipse - where the Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon, which is the second and fourth options combined - only at full moon. They do not happen every month because the Moon’s orbit is tilted about 5°, so it usually passes above or below the line. Totality is brief and its track narrow, which is why any given place sees a total solar eclipse only once in centuries, while a lunar eclipse is visible from the whole night side of the Earth at once.
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