Immediately (Feb. 17), an annular solar eclipse will start its journey throughout a distant area of Antarctica the place it is going to be seen to extra penguins than individuals. The partial photo voltaic eclipse portion of the occasion will likely be seen to observers in elements of southern Africa and the southern tip of South America.
You’ll be able to sustain with the newest eclipse information with our annular solar eclipse live blog, which will likely be up to date all through the occasion.
Throughout a photo voltaic eclipse, the moon passes between the solar and Earth, casting a lunar shadow upon our planet. The moon’s orbit round Earth is barely elliptical; typically it is farther from Earth, typically it is nearer. Throughout an annular photo voltaic eclipse, the moon is comparatively removed from Earth and doesn’t absolutely cowl the solar’s disk as we see throughout a complete photo voltaic eclipse. As an alternative, it produces a definite ring of sunshine within the sky, the “ring of fireside”.
When can we subsequent see a photo voltaic eclipse?
The next solar eclipse seen to extra individuals than penguins will likely be a total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026.
The whole photo voltaic eclipse will likely be seen in Greenland, western Iceland, and northern Spain, bringing a most of two minutes and 18 seconds of totality, the day earlier than the height of the annual Perseid meteor shower.
For those who’re in search of some inspiration for planning an eclipse 2026 journey, try our roundup of the best cruises for the total solar eclipse 2026 and the 16 best places to view the total solar eclipse 2026.














