Last month NYers were able to catch the longest partial lunar eclipse in a millennium, and now, a total solar eclipse is upon us.
Different from last month’s partial lunar eclipse, a total solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are directly in line, states NASA. The Moon ultimately blocks the Sun’s light, casting a shadow over Earth.
While a total solar eclipse is truly only visible in Antarctica, people across Saint Helena, Namibia, Lesotho, South Africa, South Georgia and Sandwich Islands, Crozet Islands, Falkland Islands, Chile, New Zealand, and Australia will be able to experience a partial solar eclipse tonight.
The total solar eclipse won’t be visible in New York, however, stargazers can still catch some of tonight’s phenomenon if they care to stay up late enough. Weather permitting, NASA will live stream the solar eclipse on their YouTube channel from Union Glacier, Antarctica courtesy of Theo Boris and Christian Lockwood of the JM Pasachoff Antarctic Expedition beginning at 1:30 a.m. E.S.T. Totality will peak around 2:44 a.m.
And though we won’t be able to catch tonight’s spectacle in-person, we’ll have better luck in two years when an annular solar eclipse will cross North America in October 2023.