The next solar eclipse will be a partial solar eclipse on Oct. 25, 2022, and will be visible from parts of Europe, western Asia and northeast Africa.
The next totality will take place on April 8, 2023, during a hybrid solar eclipse. These rare eclipses are a combination of an annular eclipse and a total solar eclipse. “During the event, a “ring of fire” will be visible for a few seconds in the Indian and Pacific oceans, with totality in Exmouth, Western Australia (up to 1 minute), Timor Leste (1 minute 14 seconds) and West Papua (1 minute 9 seconds).” Jamie Carter, science journalist, author and solar eclipse expert told Space.com.
“The next total solar eclipse will be the “Great North American Eclipse” on Apr. 8, 2024, with the path of totality crossing Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.” Carter continued.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is positioned between Earth and the sun and casts a shadow over Earth. They can only occur during the phase of the new moon and make for an interesting skywatching target.
Related: Lunar eclipses 2022: When, where & how to see them
Daisy Dobrijevic
Daisy joined Space.com in Feb. 2022. Before that, she worked as a staff writer for our sister publication All About Space magazine. Daisy has written numerous articles and guides for notable skywatching events including the Perseid meteor shower and the next solar eclipse.
Types of solar eclipse
There are four types of solar eclipses depending on how the sun, moon and Earth are aligned at the time of the event. A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.
- Total solar eclipse: The sun is fully obscured by the moon.
- Partial solar eclipse: The moon doesn’t fully block the sun so only a portion of the sun is obscured. Here the moon appears to take a “bite” out of the sun.
- Annular solar eclipse: The moon is centered in front of the sun but doesn’t cover the entirety of the surface (as seen in a total solar eclipse). A “ring of fire” shines around the moon.
- Hybrid solar eclipse: The rarest solar eclipse is a combination of a total and annular eclipse (sometimes known as an A-T eclipse) and is produced when the moon’s shadow moves across Earth, it starts as one type of eclipse and transitions to another.
According to the educational website SpaceEdge Academy (opens in new tab), 28% of solar eclipses are total, 35% are partial, 32% are annular and only 5% are hybrid.
Apr. 30 partial solar eclipse
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The first partial solar eclipse of 2022 occurred on Apr. 30 and swept across the southeast Pacific and southern South America.
The partial solar eclipse began at 1.45 p.m. EST (18:45 UTC), the greatest point of total solar eclipse occurred at 3.41 p.m. EST (20:41 UTC) and ended at 5:37 p.m. EST (22:37 UTC) at the last location to see the partial eclipse according to timeanddate (opens in new tab).
Related: The 1st solar eclipse of 2022 is stunning in these satellite views
Oct. 25 partial solar eclipse
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The second partial solar eclipse of the year will occur on Oct. 25 and should be visible from Europe, western Asia and northeast Africa. From near sunrise in Iceland to near sunset in western India, the partial solar eclipse will be widely seen.
Those wishing to see the moon take the biggest “bite” out of the sun’s disk will have to venture some 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) to the east-northeast of Moscow in the West Siberian Plain where 82% of the sun’s area will be covered, according to Sky and Telescope (opens in new tab).
Nevertheless, there are still plenty of good partial solar eclipse viewing opportunities across Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and northeast Africa.
If you are unable to watch the event in person we have a guide on how you can watch the partial solar eclipse online via various free livestreams.
What time is the Oct. 25 solar eclipse?
The first location to see the partial solar eclipse begin is at 3.58 a.m. EST (08:58 UTC), the greatest point of total solar eclipse occurs at 6 a.m. EST (11:00 UTC) and it will end at 8:02 a.m. EST (13:02 UTC) at the last location to see the partial eclipse according to timeanddate (opens in new tab).
Below is a timetable for the partial solar eclipse on Oct. 25 (all times local), featuring data from timeanddate.
| Location | Partial eclipse begins | Maximum eclipse | Partial eclipse ends | % of sun covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjavik, Iceland | 8:58 a.m. | 9:46 a.m. | 10:35 a.m. | 19% |
| London, United Kingdom | 10:08 a.m. | 10:59 a.m. | 11:51 a.m. | 15% |
| Cairo, Egypt | 12 p.m. | 1:09 p.m. | 2:16 p.m. | 26% |
| Moscow, Russia | 12:24 p.m. | 1:38 p.m. | 2:51 p.m. | 63% |
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 2:41 p.m. | 3:51 p.m. | 4:54 p.m. | 39% |
| Delhi, India | 4:29 p.m. | 5:30 p.m. | 5:42 p.m. | 44% |
Future solar eclipses
After Oct. 25, 2022, we will not experience another solar eclipse until a rare hybrid solar eclipse on Apr. 20, 2023. Portions of the eclipse will be visible in SE Asia, E Indies, Australia, the Philippines and New Zealand while the hybrid eclipse will be visible in Indonesia, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. To find out where and when the portions of the hybrid eclipse are visible check out this interactive Google map (opens in new tab) made by Xavier M. Jubier.
The next total solar eclipse will occur on Apr. 8, 2024, and has been dubbed “The Great North American Eclipse” as it will be visible throughout North and Central America. It will start in Mexico, cross into Texas then heads northeast into the Ohio River Valley, upstate New York, Quebec, Canada and New England, finally exiting the continent through the Canadian Maritimes.
The maximum duration of totality will last as long as 4 minutes and 26 seconds (over southwest Texas). That’s 135 seconds longer than the US average and 40 percent longer than the maximum duration of the 2017 eclipse.
The “Great North American Eclipse” isn’t the only solar eclipse to look forward to, here is a list of upcoming solar eclipses according to NASA (opens in new tab).
| Year | Date | Type of solar eclipse | Visible locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Apr. 20 | Hybrid | SE Asia, E. Indies, Australia, Philippines. New Zealand. Hybrid: Indonesia, Australia, Papua New Guinea |
| 2023 | Oct. 14 | Annular | N America, C. America, S. America |
| 2024 | Apr. 8 | Total | N. America and C. America |
| 2024 | Oct. 02 | Annular | Pacific, S. America |
| 2025 | Mar. 29 | Partial | NW Africa, Europe, N Russia |
| 2025 | Sept. 21 | Partial | S. Pacific, New Zealand, Antarctica |
| 2026 | Feb. 17 | Annular | S. Argentina, Chile, S. Africa, Antarctica |
| 2026 | Aug. 12 | Total | N. America, W. Africa, Europe |
How to view the sun safely
NEVER look at the sun with binoculars, a telescope or your unaided eye without special protection. Astrophotographers and astronomers use special filters to safely observe the sun during solar eclipses or other sun phenomena. Here’s our guide on how to observe the sun safely.
To safely observe the sun or watch an eclipse, you need special protective eyewear or eclipse glasses. Basic sunglasses, even those with UV protection, will not sufficiently protect your eyes. If you’re planning to document the eclipse with any photo equipment, there are special solar filters you can add to make sure the remaining ring of sunlight doesn’t take a toll on your vision.
The safest way to observe an eclipse is indirectly by using a pinhole camera that you can make easily at home.
If you must document one of these events, a simple, wide-angle snap should capture the moment, even if you’re using your smartphone camera.
Editor’s Note: If you snap an amazing solar eclipse photo and would like to share it with Space.com’s readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com (opens in new tab).
Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) and on Facebook (opens in new tab).
Additional resources
Want to look further ahead? You can find a concise summary of solar eclipses through to 2030 on NASA’s eclipse website (opens in new tab). Read more about solar and lunar eclipses on Eclipse Wise (opens in new tab) — a website dedicated to predictions of eclipses. Learn about eclipses on other planets with this short article from Cornell University’s astronomy department (opens in new tab).
Bibliography
April 30, 2022 partial solar eclipse. timeanddate. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2022-april-30 (opens in new tab)
Beatty, J. K. (2022, January 21). Solar and lunar eclipses in 2022. Sky & Telescope. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/solar-and-lunar-eclipses-in-2022/ (opens in new tab)
NASA. Solar eclipses: 2021 – 2030. NASA. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEdecade/SEdecade2021.html (opens in new tab)
October 25, 2022 partial solar eclipse. timeanddate. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2022-october-25 (opens in new tab)
Path table for Oct. 25 partial solar eclipse (opens in new tab). NASA
