Question

A solar eclipse occurs when the A solar eclipse occurs when the the moon's shadow touches Earth. moon passes into the Earth's shadow. sun passes into Earth's shadow.

Answer 1

There will always be a shadow created by the sun shining on the moon.

When the earth is in this shadow the result is a solar eclipse,

If an observer on earth can see none of the sun then this is called a total eclipse of the sun, otherwise it will be a partial ecliplse of the sun.

Note: A solar eclipse can only occur during a "new" moon at which time the moon is not visible to an observer on earth because of the light of the sun.