A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun and is perfectly aligned so that it blocks the Earth’s view of the sun.

How do scientists figure out what areas of the Earth will see an eclipse? To find out, copy the diagram above onto your paper. Then use tangents representing the sun’s rays to visually show the portion of the Earth’s equator that will see the total eclipse. You do not need to calculate this area, just show it on the diagram.