Not every solar eclipse is a total eclipse! About 35 percent of the time, the Moon does not completely cover the Sun, and we see a partial eclipse. Since the Moon orbits the Earth on an elliptical path, and not along a perfect circle, its distance from the Earth varies. Occasionally, solar eclipses will occur when the Moon is at its farthest from Earth, and it will not completely cover the disc of the Sun. Instead, the Moon will appear to pass across the middle of the Sun, leaving a ring of bright sunlight around it. This is called an annular eclipse, and these occur about 37 percent of the time. So only 28 percent of all solar eclipses are total.