A solar eclipse is going to happen today. Unfortunately it is passing over Antarctica, so few people will see it.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun, blotting out the view of the Sun from Earth. Today’s eclipse is an annular eclipse, in which the Sun is not completely masked by the Moon.
This means the Moon will move across the Sun from the left, creating a black silhouette over the Sun that eventually covers it except for a brilliant ring of sunlight. Beware! This is too dangerous to look at with the naked eye.
The eclipse will pass over the region of Antarctica pointing towards South America, travelling over the Ellsworth Mountain range, the highest mountains in the Antarctic, before passing out across the Pacific. A partial eclipse will appear over New Zealand, where the Moon will mask roughly three-fifths of the solar disk in late afternoon, local time. A smaller partial eclipse will also appear in southeastern Australia.
The UK will have the chance to see another partial solar eclipse, on August 1. Our best views will be in the far north of Scotland, as the total eclipse passes across the Arctic.