Final answer:
An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through Earth's penumbra and is too far to completely cover the Sun, resulting in a bright ring around the Moon.
Step-by-step explanation:
An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun but the Moon is too far away to completely cover the Sun. This results in the Moon covering most of the Sun, but a ring of sunlight is still visible around the Moon. Referring to the provided information and the options given, the correct answer is option E. The Moon passes through Earth's penumbra. In this scenario, if we are at position 4 in the shadow, we would see the Sun and Moon as they would appear during an annular eclipse where the Moon is more distant and thus smaller in apparent size than the Sun, leading to a bright ring or annulus around the Moon.