What term describes a solar eclipse where the Moon completely covers the Sun?

A solar eclipse where the Moon completely covers the Sun is called a total solar eclipse. It occurs when the Moon passes directly between Earth and the Sun and its apparent disk is large enough to hide the Sun’s bright photosphere from a particular location.

During totality, observers inside the Moon’s narrow umbral shadow can briefly see the solar corona, the Sun’s extremely hot outer atmosphere. The sky darkens, temperatures may drop, and bright stars or planets can become visible. The moments before and after totality can also produce dramatic effects such as Baily’s beads and the diamond ring effect, caused by sunlight shining through valleys or gaps along the Moon’s edge.

The Moon’s orbit is tilted by about 5 degrees relative to Earth’s orbit around the Sun, so total eclipses do not happen at every new moon. The Moon’s elliptical orbit also changes its apparent size. When it appears too small to cover the Sun completely, an annular eclipse leaves a bright “ring of fire”; a partial eclipse covers only part of the solar disk.

Total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth about every 18 months, but any one location may wait centuries to experience one.