Solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth and the three of them lie in a straight line. It can only occur at the phase of the new moon when the Moon passes the Earth and the Sun. The above diagram shows the station of the Moon, Earth and Sun during solar eclipse. When the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth and the three of them lie in the straight line, the Moon blocks the sunlight. Solar eclipse occurs if the Moon's shadow falls on the Earth's surface at that time. During solar eclipse, we can see that some portions of the Sun's surface are covered by the Moon. When the Moon blocks sunlight, it produces a shadow with two regions, the umbra and the penumbra. During solar eclipse, all we can see from the Earth is a ring of light around the Moon. Solar eclipse is very brief. It lasts for only a few minutes. During solar eclipse, the sky gets darker and darker until eventually it becomes completely dark during the day. After that, the sky will gradually get brighter and brighter until it appears as usual again.