Now that the “Great North American Eclipse” is over, you may be itching for the next opportunity to witness another celestial marvel. So when is the next solar eclipse?
The next totalsolar eclipse is more than two years out, on Aug. 12, 2026, in Greenland, Iceland and Spain. However, on Oct. 2, 2024, a “ring of fire” annular solar eclipse will pass over parts of the Pacific Ocean, southern Chile and southern Argentina.
Whereas 43.8 million people were able to experience totality for the April 8, 2024, eclipse in North America, only 175,000 people will have that opportunity for the Oct. 2 annular solar eclipse, according to Time and Date. The paths of both eclipses cross in the Pacific Ocean.
So, ready to go eclipse chasing? Here’s everything you need to know about the annular solar eclipse on Oct. 2, 2024, in Chile and Argentina.
What is an annular solar eclipse?
The Oct. 2 eclipse will be very similar to the annular solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023, which was visible across the U.S. Southwest, Central America and South America. All solar eclipses occur when a new moon is positioned precisely between Earth and the sun and casts its shadow on Earth. However, unlike a total solar eclipse, an annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon is slightly farther from Earth. So, even when the disks align from our perspective, the moon’s shadow doesn’t completely block out the sun’s light. Instead, a ring of sunlight is visible around the moon.
The eclipse on Oct. 2, 2024, will have an eclipse magnitude of 0.9326, according to EclipseWise.com. That means about 93% of the sun will be blocked by the moon during the eclipse, resulting in an “annulus” (Latin for “ring”). The moon will appear 6.4% smaller than average, according to MoonBlink.
The closer the observer is to the centerline, the more circular the ring of fire will be and the longer it will last. But experienced eclipse chasers often observe from the edge of the path during an annular solar eclipse to see extended views of Baily’s beads fizzing around where the limb of the moon appears to touch the sun. They can be visible for several minutes.
From where can you see the Oct. 2 annular solar eclipse?
A map of the Oct. 2, 2024, annular solar eclipse (Image credit: Michael Zeiler GreatAmericanEclipse.com)
The ring of fire will be visible only within a path of annularity that passes across the Pacific Ocean, southern Chile and southern Argentina.
This area will include the volcanic island of Rapa Nui/Easter Island, an iconic travel destination that’s famous for the mysterious stone statues called moai, some of which reach 40 feet (12 meters) tall and weigh 75 tons. The island, which is only 63 square miles (163 square kilometers), is located 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from the Chilean coast, making it the most isolated inhabited landmass on Earth. Remarkably, it will be the second time a central solar eclipse has been visible from this tiny Pacific island in recent decades, with a total solar eclipse glimpsed there on July 11, 2010. The next total and annular eclipses there will be in 2324 and 2345, respectively.
A good option would be to position yourself slightly south of a moai at multiple sites to get a view of the ring of fire just above one of the statues, according to the Atlas of Solar Eclipses — 2020 to 2045. Iconic locations will include the platform at Ahu Tongariki, where 15 moai are positioned on a 200-foot-long (60 m) ceremonial platform and nearby Rano Raraku.
October’s ring of fire will also be visible from southern Patagonia in Chile and Argentina. The path will be 180 to 185 miles (290 to 300 km) wide.
Where and when can I see the Oct. 2 annular solar eclipse?
A map of the Oct. 2, 2024, annular solar eclipse across South America. (Image credit: Michael Zeiler GreatAmericanEclipse.com)
Here are some places eclipse chasers will gather for this annular solar eclipse:
Rapa Nui/Easter Island, Chile (5 minutes, 38 seconds to 6 minutes, 12 seconds of annularity starting at 14:03 EAST, 67 degrees above North)
Cochrane, Chile (5 minutes, 40 seconds of annularity starting at 17:21 CLST, 26 degrees above NNW)
Perito Moreno National Park, Argentina (6 minutes, 17 seconds of annularity starting at 17:21 ART, 25 degrees above NNW)
Puerto Deseado, Argentina (3 minutes, 22 seconds of annularity starting at 17:27 ART, 20 degrees above NNW)
Puerto San Julian, Argentina (5 minutes, 12 seconds of annularity starting at 17:24 ART, 21 degrees above NNW)
Organized eclipse-viewing tours include Sky & Telescope, TravelQuest and AstroTrails. All are experienced eclipse tour operators that are headed to Rapa Nui/Easter Island.
What will the weather be like for the Oct. 2 annular eclipse?
A total solar eclipse was visible from Rapa Nui/Easter Island in 2010. (Image credit: MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images)
It’s always best to travel somewhere you want to visit regardless of a solar eclipse. That certainly applies to the Oct. 2 event, because the prospects of a completely clear sky are relatively low. The chances of clouds that day are 75% for Rapa Nui/Easter Island,, 90% for Perito Moreno National Park, and 65% to 70% for locations on Argentina’s Atlantic coast, according to Time and Date.
On Rapa Nui/Easter Island, the cooling of the land could cause convective clouds to dissipate, according to Eclipsophile, with the south coast statistically slightly favored. The chances of seeing the ring of fire are smallest on Chile’s Pacific Coast and highest on Argentina’s Atlantic coast. The latter has the least interesting scenery of anywhere in the path, but the eclipse will arguably be a more dramatic sight because it will occur much lower in the sky.
Why is the Oct. 2, 2024, annular solar eclipse special?
The paths of 2024’s two central solar eclipses cross on the equator, reflecting that they occur almost six months apart when Earth is tilted differently. (Image credit: Xavier Jubier http://xjubier.free.fr)
The Oct. 2, 2024, annular solar eclipse is special for three very different reasons. First, it follows the Great North American Eclipse of April 8 — so interest in solar eclipses should be high, and many eclipse chasers will travel to see it.
Second, it’s a long eclipse, with the ring of fire lasting up to 7 minutes, 25 seconds. That’s much longer than the 4 minutes, 52 seconds possible in the U.S. during the last annular solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023.
Third, the best place to view this event is a truly iconic destination: Rapa Nui, also called Easter Island.
Where to see the partial solar eclipse on Oct. 2
Although a ring-of-fire eclipse will be visible only from the aforementioned areas of Chile and Argentina, other areas will experience a partial solar eclipse on Oct. 2. These areas include parts of the Pacific Ocean and the southern half of South America. Here’s what percentage of eclipse will be seen from major cities and destinations in the partial-eclipse zone:
Galapagos Islands (1%)
La Paz, Bolivia (1%)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (9%)
São Paulo, Brazil (10%)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (42%)
Montevideo, Uruguay (42%)
Santiago, Chile (44%)
Villarrica, Chile (63%)
El Calafate, Argentina (83%)
Falkland Islands (84%)
South Georgia Island (76%)
Punta Arenas, Chile (75%)
Ushuaia, Argentina (72%)
Elephant Island (56%)
Port Lockroy, Antarctica (44%)
After October 2024, when is the next annular solar eclipse?
Here are the dates and locations for some upcoming annular solar eclipses:
Jan. 26, 2028: Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Brazil, French Guiana, Portugal, Morocco and Spain
June 1, 2030: Algeria, Tunisia, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Japan
Additional resources
Want to look further ahead? You can find a concise summary of solar eclipses out to 2030 on NASA’s eclipse website. Read more about solar and lunar eclipses on EclipseWise.com, a website dedicated to predictions of eclipses. See beautiful maps on eclipse cartographer Michael Zeiler’s GreatAmericanEclipse.com and interactive Google Maps on Xavier Jubier’s eclipse website. You can find climate and weather predictions by meteorologist Jay Anderson on eclipsophile.com.
Bibliography
Anderson, J. (February 2024). Annular Solar Eclipse
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
