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HomeEducationalOther TopicsAbout EclipsesSolar Eclipses in the Next 10 Years Thursday, Mar 28 2024 11:05 UT
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Coming Solar Eclipses

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves between the Sun and the Earth, and blocks at least part of the Sun's light to an observer somewhere on Earth. A solar eclipse can only occur during the time of new Moon, and only when the Moon is close to a node in its orbit.

Solar eclipses are thought of as being rare; but on average a solar eclipse will occur somewhere on Earth about twice a year. An eclipse may be partial, total, or annular. A total solar eclipse implies that at some point on Earth, the Moon will totally occlude the Sun's light for a short period of time. A partial eclipse occurs when part of the Sun's disc is obscured by the Moon, but implies that there is no point on the Earth's surface where the disc is totally covered. An annular eclipse is in effect a total eclipse that occurs when the Moon is sufficiently far away from the Earth in its orbit that its apparent size is too small to completely obscure the Sun's face. When this happens, a ring of fire is visible surrounding the Moon at the height of the eclipse.

A total eclipse is the most spectacular sight of the three types of eclipse, for during totality, the outer atmosphere or corona of the Sun is visible to the naked eye. This awe inspiring sight is something that will be remembered for a lifetime.

Detailed information on forthcoming solar eclipses can be found on the NASA website.

The following table lists all the solar eclipses to 2025.

Date Type Where visible
20 Mar 2015TotalIceland, Europe, n Africa, n Asia
13 Sep 2015Partials Africa, s Indian, Antarctica
09 Mar 2016Totale Asia, Australia, Pacific
01 Sep 2016AnnularAfrica, Indian Ocean
26 Feb 2017Annulars S. America, Atlantic, Africa, Antarctica
21 Aug 2017TotalN. America, n S. America
15 Feb 2018PartialAntarctica, s S. America
13 Jul 2018Partials Australia
11 Aug 2018Partialn Europe, ne Asia
06 Jan 2019Partialne Asia, n Pacific
02 Jul 2019Totals Pacific, S. America
26 Dec 2019AnnularAsia, Australia
21 Jun 2020AnnularAfrica, se Europe, Asia
14 Dec 2020TotalPacific, s S. America, Antarctica
10 Jun 2021Annularn N. America, Europe, Asia
04 Dec 2021TotalAntarctica, S. Africa, s Atlantic
30 Apr 2022Partialse Pacific, s S. America
25 Oct 2022PartialEurope, ne Africa, Mid East, w Asia
20 Apr 2023Annular/TotalSE. Asia, E. Indies, Australia, Philippines, NZ
14 Oct 2023AnnularN. America, C. America, S. America
08 Apr 2024TotalN. America, C. America
02 Oct 2024AnnularPacific, s S. America

Suggested Further Reading and References

Eclipse, by David and Carol Allen (Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1987)

Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses, by Fred Espenak (NASA Reference Publication 1178, 1987)

Material prepared by Richard Thompson & John Kennewell

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