Annular solar eclipse February 17, 2026
The first solar eclipse of 2026 will be an annular – sometimes called a “ring of fire” – solar eclipse on Tuesday, February 17. This annular solar eclipse will be fun to think about. But only a few million of Earth’s 8.3 billion inhabitants will see even the partial phases. The partial eclipse will be visible from areas including the southern tip of South America, southern Africa, the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and most of Antarctica.
Meanwhile, the path of the annular eclipse will cross remote parts of Antarctica and the southern regions of the Southern Ocean. It’ll be viewed mainly from scientific research stations in Antarctica, including the Concordia Research Station (a French-Italian station) and the Russian Mirny Station in Queen Mary Land on the eastern part of the continent of Antarctica. The primary American base in Antarctica is McMurdo Station. McMurdo will see a deep partial eclipse, with the sun 86% blotted out by the moon.
Here are some times for the annular solar eclipse on February 17, 2026:
- Partial eclipse begins at 9:56 UTC
- Maximum eclipse begins at 12:12 UTC
- Partial eclipse ends at 14:27 UTC
NOTE: An annular eclipse is a partial eclipse. You must use eye protection! Warning: This eclipse is not safe to view without some form of protection for your eyes.
For precise timing from your location check timeanddate.com.
Click here to learn to watch a solar eclipse safely.
Animations and seeing the eclipse from your location
Watch an animation of the path of the annular solar eclipse at Timeanddate.com
Watch an animation of the path of the annular eclipse at In-the-sky.org
Another animation of the eclipse at Eclipsewise.com
Information for your location Timeanddate.com
The Solar Eclipse Circumstances Calculator is an interactive web page
Why is it called an annular eclipse?
Astronomers call this an annular eclipse of the sun. In fact, that name comes from the Latin word for ring: annulus. During this eclipse, the moon will be too far away in its orbit to cover the sun completely. At mid-eclipse, the outer surface of the sun will appear in a ring around the moon.
So, though not as dramatic as a total solar eclipse, an annular eclipse is fascinating to view. The sky darkens as the partial phases deepen. Little crescent suns appear all around you, as the tiny gaps between tree leaves act like camera lenses, projecting an inverted image of the sun onto the pavement or walls below.
As for any eclipse, you really only need to know two things. First, how much of the sun will be covered from your location? Second, what time is the eclipse from your location? But again for the February 17, 2026, eclipse, only those at the southernmost part of Earth will see even the partial phases.
Information for your location Timeanddate.com
Overall, the February 17, 2026 annular eclipse will last 271 minutes. At maximum eclipse – for those using safe solar viewing techniques along the central eclipse path – the sun will be 96% covered by the moon. The sky will never turn completely dark. Stars and planets won’t pop into view. But the sun itself will be a mesmerizing sight. The sun will show the “ring of fire” effect for about 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
Overview of the February 17 annular solar eclipse
The path of the annular eclipse is visible only over remote parts of Antarctica – and the ocean – and will begin at 11:42 UTC. That’s where the moon’s antumbral shadow first falls on Earth, forming a 383 miles (616 kilometers) wide and 2,661 miles (4,282 kilometers) long path.
Then the annular eclipse sun will reach greatest eclipse at 12:13 UTC with a duration of 2 minutes and 20 seconds. And 96% of the sun will be obscured. Then about an hour later at 12:41 UTC, the annular eclipse will end with the partial eclipse ending at 14:27 UTC.
Meanwhile, those outside the shadow path will see a partial solar eclipse. Important: this is not a total eclipse. And the first thing to remember, at no time during this eclipse will it be safe to look at the sun without proper eye protection.
Moon, constellation, Saros
Greatest eclipse takes place at 12:11 UTC on February 17, 6.8 days after the moon reaches apogee, its farthest point from Earth for the month. During the February 17, 2026, eclipse, the sun is located in the direction of the constellation Aquarius.
This eclipse has a magnitude of 0.9630.
The Saros catalog describes the periodicity of eclipses. The eclipse belongs to Saros 121. It is number 61 of 71 eclipses in the series. All eclipses in this series occur at the moon’s ascending node. The moon moves southward with respect to the node with each succeeding eclipse in the series.
This is 2026’s 1st solar eclipse
There will be a second solar eclipse in 2026 – on August 12, 2024 – and it’ll be a total solar eclipse whose path of totality passes over the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland and Spain. And observers in much of Western Europe and North America will see a partial eclipse.
Bottom line: On February 17, 2026, an annular solar eclipse will be visible from Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Also, it’ll be visible as a partial eclipse from areas including the southern tip of South America, southern Africa and most of Antarctica.
Read more: The total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024
Read more by Fred Espenak at EclipseWise.com
The post Annular solar eclipse on February 17, 2026 first appeared on EarthSky.
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/vVJNQHF
Annular solar eclipse February 17, 2026
The first solar eclipse of 2026 will be an annular – sometimes called a “ring of fire” – solar eclipse on Tuesday, February 17. This annular solar eclipse will be fun to think about. But only a few million of Earth’s 8.3 billion inhabitants will see even the partial phases. The partial eclipse will be visible from areas including the southern tip of South America, southern Africa, the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and most of Antarctica.
Meanwhile, the path of the annular eclipse will cross remote parts of Antarctica and the southern regions of the Southern Ocean. It’ll be viewed mainly from scientific research stations in Antarctica, including the Concordia Research Station (a French-Italian station) and the Russian Mirny Station in Queen Mary Land on the eastern part of the continent of Antarctica. The primary American base in Antarctica is McMurdo Station. McMurdo will see a deep partial eclipse, with the sun 86% blotted out by the moon.
Here are some times for the annular solar eclipse on February 17, 2026:
- Partial eclipse begins at 9:56 UTC
- Maximum eclipse begins at 12:12 UTC
- Partial eclipse ends at 14:27 UTC
NOTE: An annular eclipse is a partial eclipse. You must use eye protection! Warning: This eclipse is not safe to view without some form of protection for your eyes.
For precise timing from your location check timeanddate.com.
Click here to learn to watch a solar eclipse safely.
Animations and seeing the eclipse from your location
Watch an animation of the path of the annular solar eclipse at Timeanddate.com
Watch an animation of the path of the annular eclipse at In-the-sky.org
Another animation of the eclipse at Eclipsewise.com
Information for your location Timeanddate.com
The Solar Eclipse Circumstances Calculator is an interactive web page
Why is it called an annular eclipse?
Astronomers call this an annular eclipse of the sun. In fact, that name comes from the Latin word for ring: annulus. During this eclipse, the moon will be too far away in its orbit to cover the sun completely. At mid-eclipse, the outer surface of the sun will appear in a ring around the moon.
So, though not as dramatic as a total solar eclipse, an annular eclipse is fascinating to view. The sky darkens as the partial phases deepen. Little crescent suns appear all around you, as the tiny gaps between tree leaves act like camera lenses, projecting an inverted image of the sun onto the pavement or walls below.
As for any eclipse, you really only need to know two things. First, how much of the sun will be covered from your location? Second, what time is the eclipse from your location? But again for the February 17, 2026, eclipse, only those at the southernmost part of Earth will see even the partial phases.
Information for your location Timeanddate.com
Overall, the February 17, 2026 annular eclipse will last 271 minutes. At maximum eclipse – for those using safe solar viewing techniques along the central eclipse path – the sun will be 96% covered by the moon. The sky will never turn completely dark. Stars and planets won’t pop into view. But the sun itself will be a mesmerizing sight. The sun will show the “ring of fire” effect for about 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
Overview of the February 17 annular solar eclipse
The path of the annular eclipse is visible only over remote parts of Antarctica – and the ocean – and will begin at 11:42 UTC. That’s where the moon’s antumbral shadow first falls on Earth, forming a 383 miles (616 kilometers) wide and 2,661 miles (4,282 kilometers) long path.
Then the annular eclipse sun will reach greatest eclipse at 12:13 UTC with a duration of 2 minutes and 20 seconds. And 96% of the sun will be obscured. Then about an hour later at 12:41 UTC, the annular eclipse will end with the partial eclipse ending at 14:27 UTC.
Meanwhile, those outside the shadow path will see a partial solar eclipse. Important: this is not a total eclipse. And the first thing to remember, at no time during this eclipse will it be safe to look at the sun without proper eye protection.
Moon, constellation, Saros
Greatest eclipse takes place at 12:11 UTC on February 17, 6.8 days after the moon reaches apogee, its farthest point from Earth for the month. During the February 17, 2026, eclipse, the sun is located in the direction of the constellation Aquarius.
This eclipse has a magnitude of 0.9630.
The Saros catalog describes the periodicity of eclipses. The eclipse belongs to Saros 121. It is number 61 of 71 eclipses in the series. All eclipses in this series occur at the moon’s ascending node. The moon moves southward with respect to the node with each succeeding eclipse in the series.
This is 2026’s 1st solar eclipse
There will be a second solar eclipse in 2026 – on August 12, 2024 – and it’ll be a total solar eclipse whose path of totality passes over the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland and Spain. And observers in much of Western Europe and North America will see a partial eclipse.
Bottom line: On February 17, 2026, an annular solar eclipse will be visible from Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Also, it’ll be visible as a partial eclipse from areas including the southern tip of South America, southern Africa and most of Antarctica.
Read more: The total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024
Read more by Fred Espenak at EclipseWise.com
The post Annular solar eclipse on February 17, 2026 first appeared on EarthSky.
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/vVJNQHF
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