According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the next eclipse will happen on December 14, 2020. However, this eclipse will be a total solar eclipse—when the moon completely covers the sun.
NASA has created a catalog of eclipses that will take place until the year 3000. According to this, the next annular eclipse will happen on June 10, 2021, with another total eclipse in December 2021.
A “ring of fire” solar eclipse occurs when the moon is at apogee—its farthest distance from the Earth—and passes directly in front of the sun. At maximum eclipse, the moon’s disk covers the vast majority of the sun, apart from the star’s far outer edges, which remain visible as a “ring of fire” in the sky.
On June 10, 2021, the regions that will see a partial solar eclipse, minimum, will include the majority of Europe, Asia, north and west Africa, much of North America, the Atlantic and Arctic. However, according to timeanddate.com, no region will have 100 percent visibility.
How often do eclipses happen?
According to Britannica, in each calendar year there are usually two lunar eclipses, though in some years this has varied from none, one or three. However, solar eclipses occur two to five times a year—according to Britannica, there last were five solar eclipses in 1935 and there will not be five again until 2206. The average number of total solar eclipses in a century is 66 for Earth as a whole.
Numbers of solar eclipses that have taken place or are predicted to take place during the 21st to 25th centuries are:
2001–2100: 224 eclipses2101–2200: 235 eclipses2201–2300: 248 eclipses2301–2400: 248 eclipses2401–2500: 237 eclipses
The following solar eclipses are predicted by NASA for the next decade:
June 10, 2021: AnnularDecember 4, 2021: TotalApril 20, 2023: HybridOctober 14, 2023: AnnularApril 8, 2024: TotalOctober 2, 2024: AnnularFebruary 17, 2026: AnnularAugust 12, 2026: TotalFebruary 6, 2027: AnnularAugust 2, 2027: TotalJanuary 26, 2028: AnnularJuly 22, 2028: TotalJune 1, 2030: AnnularNovember 25, 2030: Total
Whereas this year’s annular eclipse fell on the summer solstice, it looks like we won’t see another one on the same day within this decade. The summer solstice is the beginning of summer and has the longest amount of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere during the year.
In the southern hemisphere, the solstice marks the end of fall and the beginning of winter. In this region, June 20 is the shortest day of the year, with the least hours of sunlight and the longest night.
