A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Monday, December 25, 2000, with a magnitude of 0.7228. It was the first solar eclipse to fall on Christmas since 1954, and will be the last until 2038. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth. This was also the last solar eclipse of the 20th century.