Partial solar eclipse through clouds. This was the eclipse of 29th March 2006, photographed from Duisberg, Germany at 12:35 local time (10:35 GMT). The eclipse was total in a narrow band running from eastern Brazil, through western and northern Africa, Turkey and central Asia to Mongolia. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun as seen from Earth. A total eclipse occurs on average around once every 18 months. The Sun is not eclipsed at every new Moon as the orbits of the Moon around the Earth and the Earth around the Sun are not exactly in the same plane.