Lucky few to see 'ring of fire' solar eclipse over Antarctica on Feb. 17

While the new moon this Tuesday (Feb. 17) will pass without much fanfare in most of the world, something more exciting will be taking place over a sliver of Antarctica: a "ring of fire" solar eclipse, also known as an annular solar eclipse.

During an annular solar eclipse, the moon passes directly in front of the sun but appears too small in the sky to cover it completely. That’s because the moon is at its farthest point from Earth in its slightly elliptical orbit during these rare eclipses. On Feb. 17, 96% of the sun will be covered during the "ring of fire."

Observers within a narrow 383-mile-wide (616 kilometers) path will see a "ring of fire" — the glowing edge of the sun around the dark silhouette of the moon — for up to 2 minutes, 20 seconds.

However, few people will witness it. This eclipse is as remote as they come, with the eclipse's path passing over largely uninhabited terrain in the Antarctic interior.

"It's possible that only a few people will view this eclipse from within the annular zone," eclipse meteorologist Jay Anderson wrote on his website, Eclipsophile. "It's a challenge to reach, and there are only two inhabited locations within the annular shadow, neither of which is set up to welcome tourists. "At worst, a few dozen Russian researchers at Mirny and a small number of French/Italian inhabitants at Concordia [two research stations in Antarctica] will record the event for posterity."

An eclipse for scientists (and penguins)

At Mirny Station, on the Davis Sea coast, the "ring of fire" phase, called annularity, will last 1 minute, 52 seconds, according to Time and Date. Meanwhile, Concordia Station, which is jointly operated by France and Italy, will see the ring of fire for 2 minutes, 9 seconds. The latter location has a much better chance of clear skies, Time and Date adds.

The eclipse officially starts at 09:56 UTC (4:46 a.m. EST), when a partial eclipse will begin across Antarctica and parts of southeastern Africa. (Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius will see a 10% to 35% partial eclipse.) The annular phase takes place between 11:42 UTC and 12:41 UTC (6:42 to 7:42 a.m. EST), with the partial phases concluding by 14:27 UTC (2:27 p.m. EST).

Eclipses always come in pairs. With the alignment between the sun, the new moon and Earth precise enough to cause an annular solar eclipse on Feb. 17, a lunar eclipse is inevitable during the next new moon. On March 3, a total lunar eclipse will be visible from East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, parts of the Pacific Ocean and western North America.

The next annular solar eclipse will occur on Feb. 6, 2027, when a "ring of fire" will be visible for up to 7 minutes, 51 seconds from Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, according to Time and Date.