Experience a once-in-a-lifetime perspective of a solar eclipse, seen from the window of an airplane.. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves directly between Earth and the Sun, aligning so precisely that it blocks the Sun’s light. Although the Sun is roughly 400 times larger than the Moon, it is also about 400 times farther away, making them appear nearly the same size in the sky. During totality, the Moon completely obscures the Sun, unveiling its outer atmosphere—the corona—and turning daylight into an eerie twilight. Because this exact alignment is rare for any given location, total solar eclipses are truly unforgettable events.