AT-OEMO-REG 2000 Problem 3

We consider two circles $k_1(M_1, r_1)$ and $k_2(M_2, r_2)$ with $z = M_1M_2 > r_1+r_2$ and a common outer tangent with the tangent points $P_1$ and $P2$ (that is, they lie on the same side of the connecting line $M_1M_2$ ). We now change the radii so that their sum is $r_1+r_2 = c$ remains constant. What set of points does the midpoint of the tangent segment $P_1P_2$ run through, when $r_1$ varies from $0$ to $c$ ?