Space and Physics
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Tomorrow, the Sun, Moon, and Earth will come together in near-perfect alignment, creating a partial solar eclipse as the Moon passes in front of the Sun. It may not be as showy as a total eclipse, but it’s always fun to watch the Moon take a bite out of the Sun.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Partial eclipses happen when, from particular viewing points on Earth, the Moon is between us and our star and its disk partially covers the Sun’s. This means it won't go completely dark but the light of our star will be dimmed.
It’s the second partial solar eclipse of 2022, almost bringing an end to this year's eclipses (next month’s lunar eclipse will close the year out) and will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, October 25.
You should have good views from across Asia, Africa, and Europe, and can find out when the eclipse and maximum point will be happening in your area thanks to TimeandDate’s interactive maps. There are plenty of live streams too should you want to catch it without being in a prime viewing location.
As ever, if you plan on watching it live and in person, remember to stay safe: use special solar viewing or eclipse glasses if you want to face the Sun, or else use an indirect viewing method like a pinhole camera.
“It is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing,” cautions NASA. “Eclipse glasses are NOT regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the Sun.”
There are between two and four eclipses a year, though the maximum that can occur in one calendar year is five. According to NASA, that’s pretty rare though, with just 25 years out of the past 5,000 having five.
Solar and lunar eclipses always come in pairs – the solar eclipse occurs either two weeks before or after the lunar eclipse. Next month’s lunar eclipse on November 8 will be total, meaning Earth will come between the Full Moon and the Sun, completely blocking the Sun's rays which normally light up the Moon. After that, we're looking at April 2023 for an exciting total solar eclipse.
