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After the excitement of the Great North American Solar Eclipse last April, many people have been asking when the next solar eclipse will occur. The answer is Tuesday, October 2, when an annular eclipse will occur.
This is a type of solar eclipse in which the Moon is too far from Earth to completely cover the Sun, leaving a glowing ring of sunlight around the Moon’s silhouette; think of it as the “penny on a nickel effect”; the penny represents the Moon and the nickel represents the Sun.
You may recall that last year, on October 14, such an eclipse swept across the western and southern United States, the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, Central America, southern Colombia, and northern Brazil. Millions of people living in annular orbit were able to watch (weather permitting) the sun transform into a spectacular “ring of fire” for more than 5 minutes.
But things will be quite different for the upcoming annular solar eclipse on October 2. Unlike last year, when the path of the annular phase of the eclipse passed over many accessible population centers, capturing an image of this year’s solar annulus will be quite challenging.
Because about Ninety-five percent of the eclipse’s path will pass over open ocean waters.
A road over Oceania
The eclipse’s path that will create this “ring of fire” effect will begin at local sunrise about 1,000 miles southwest of Honolulu, just north of the equator, at a point in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Shortly thereafter, the moon’s shadow will move east, then southeast, across the equator and into the South Pacific Ocean, first passing north of the island nation of Kiribati, then northeast of French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands. At greatest eclipse, the annular phase will last 7 minutes and 24 seconds at an altitude of 69 degrees. Here, the eclipse path is 165 miles (265 km) wide.
Still, there will be thousands hoping to see the annulated sun from the legendary and mystical Easter Island, perhaps one of the most isolated and remote spots on earth.
Positioned by chance
Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui or Isla de Pascua, is a special region of Chile. It is a breathtaking open-air museum and UNESCO World Heritage Site, with much of the island protected within the Rapa Nui National Park. Luckily, it lies almost directly in the path of the moon’s shadow on Sunday, giving locals and tourists alike the opportunity to witness a total solar eclipse.
The name “Easter Island” was given by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, the first recorded European visitor to the island. Roggeveen encountered the island on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1722, while searching for Davis or David’s Island. The official Spanish name for the island is Isla de Pascua., Spanish for “Easter Island”. It is 2,200 mi (3,600 km) west of continental Chile and 1,290 mi (2,075 km) east of the Pitcairn Islands. Sala y Gómez, 260 mi (415 km) east, is closer but uninhabited. It is just south of Salt Lake City and just east of Brisbane, Australia; it is the easternmost and nearly southernmost island in the South Pacific.
About 1,200 or 1,300 years ago, a double-hulled canoe filled with sailors from a distant culture landed on Easter Island. Over the following centuries, an extraordinary society developed in isolation on the island. For reasons still unknown, they began carving giant statues from volcanic rock. These enormous monuments, known as “moai,” are some of the most incredible ancient ruins ever discovered. At least 288 of them once stood on massive stone platforms called ahu. There are about 250 of these ahu platforms, spaced about half a mile apart, and they form an almost continuous line around the island.
There are another 600 moai statues in various stages of completion scattered around the island, either in quarries or along ancient roads between the quarries and the coastal areas where the statues are most commonly erected. The average statue stands 14 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 14 tons. Depending on the size of the statues, it is estimated that 50 to 150 people were required to drag them across the countryside on sleds and rollers made from the island’s trees.
About 8,000 people live in this 64-square-mile (166-square-kilometer) area of hills and volcanoes. And yet, despite being the most remote inhabited place on Earth, tourism has boomed, from 22,000 tourists in 2003 to 100,000 by 2024. And that number is likely to continue to rise. Travel to Easter Island from Chile and Tahiti became easier with the opening of Mataveri Airport in 1967. A Boeing 787 Dreamliner flies from Santiago, Chile, to Easter Island six times a week. The flight takes about five hours.
As seen from Easter Island, the moon will begin to move across the solar disk at 11:23 local time, and an off-center solar ring will form at 1:04, lasting approximately 6 minutes and 5 seconds. After the ring phase ends, the moon will slowly move away from the solar disk, with final contact occurring at 2:52.
It can’t be compared to a total eclipse
It should be emphasized that the annular solar eclipse, one of the most extraordinary phenomena that can be witnessed, falls far short of the spectacle offered by the total eclipse.
During a total eclipse, the sky darkens dramatically, similar to what one would experience 30 or 40 minutes before sunrise or after sunset. Brighter stars and planets suddenly become visible. Exotic orange and saffron colors line the horizon, and surrounding the darkened sun is the incredible corona, or outer atmosphere of the sun. Only at this time of total eclipse can you look directly at the sun without harming your eyes.
However, this is not the case during an annular eclipse.
You will need to protect your eyes at all times, even during the ring of fire phase. During an annular eclipse, about 87% of the sun’s total disk area will be hidden by the dark silhouette of the moon. However, the remaining 13% of the sun that remains in view will be bright enough to block out the corona and any stars and planets. The overall illumination of the sky will be slightly dimmer, but it will certainly not resemble a dawn or dusk sky. In short, comparing a total eclipse to an annular eclipse is like comparing night to day.
The final straight was entered and then the finish line was reached
About 68 minutes later, the moon’s antumbral (“negative shadow”) shadow reaches South America and takes 12 minutes to cross Patagonia, enter the Pacific via Parque Nacional Laguna San Rafael in Chile, and exit the South Atlantic at Cañadón Once de Septiembre in Argentina. The path shifts just north of the Falkland Islands and will leave the Earth’s surface north of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Where can you watch the partial solar eclipse?
A partial solar eclipse will be visible from the Hawaiian Islands at sunrise and in the afternoon hours across the southern two-thirds of South America. Below is a table providing local times for the various phases of the eclipse as seen from Honolulu and seven selected South American cities. Dashes indicate where the sun is below the horizon. “Mag.” indicates the fraction of the sun’s diameter covered by the moon’s disk at maximum eclipse.
For example, from Honolulu, the maximum phase of the eclipse will occur at 6:45 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time. The magnitude is .586, meaning the dark disk of the moon will be 58.6% across the sun’s disk.
It’s important to reiterate: Looking at the sun without proper eye protection is dangerous. Even if you’re in the path of an annular eclipse, you’ll still need to protect your eyes during the “ring of fire” phase.
Nearby attractions
Open March 29, 2025A partial solar eclipse will be visible across much of Europe, northwestern Africa, Greenland, Iceland, Atlantic Canada and parts of New England.
The next total solar eclipse will occur on: August 12, 2026 and will move south and east, passing through eastern Greenland, western Iceland, and northern Spain.
Joe Rao is an instructor and guest lecturer at a university in New York. Hayden Planetarium.Writing about astronomy Natural History Journal, Farmer’s Calendar and other publications.