If you happen to be in Greenland, off the west coast of Iceland, or on a narrow path in central Spain on August 12, 2026, you’ll be very lucky (or have planned your schedule very well): you’ll be able to see a total solar eclipse.
This is, without a doubt, one of the most, if not to say, That most are wonderful astronomical events that humans can witness. The Moon, hidden in the daytime sky until its silhouette forms a narrow curve at the edge of the Sun, slowly glides across the disk of our star towards fullness, the moment when the Moon completely obscures the Sun. As you approach completeness, the light around you changes in timbre, the shadows become sharper, the birds stop chirping, and the crickets begin to sing as if night is falling. And now this moment comes. The brilliant disk of the Sun is completely closed, and the ethereal wisps of the corona – the gaseous atmosphere of the Sun – become completely visible. Brighter stars and a few planets also appear in the darkened sky.
Part of the emotional impact of an eclipse is how fleeting this moment of totality is; this August the maximum duration will be just over two minutes. Not that a longer eclipse necessarily diminished the experience—total totality during the 2024 Great American Eclipse lasted more than four minutes—but was still an incredible experience for viewers.
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However, this raises an obvious question: how long Maybe will there be an eclipse?
The answer depends on many factors. For example, the Moon orbits the Earth in an elliptical path, so sometimes it is further away from us than at other times. When it is closer, it also more in the sky, so it takes longer to achieve totality. Conversely, the Earth also orbits the Sun in an ellipse, so when our planet is at aphelion (greatest solar distance), our star appears in its orbit. the smallest in the sky, expanding the totality.
Latitude also matters. We live on a rotating planet, and the Moon orbits the Earth in the same direction as its rotation. The lateral speed of the Earth’s rotation is greatest at the equator, where it reaches more than 1,600 kilometers per hour. This maximizes the duration of the eclipse as the viewer follows the Moon’s movement.
To complicate matters, the Moon is closest to the observer (and therefore largest in the sky) when it is directly overhead, at its zenith. However, in July, the Earth is at aphelion – a time when the Sun cannot be at its zenith as seen from the equator! According to geometry, the best location for a maximum “equatorial” eclipse will be at a latitude of 5 degrees north.
There are also more subtle effects, such as the gradual change in the shape of the Earth’s orbit due to the gravitational influence of other planets, that complicate this calculation. But this is not impossible: the mathematical calculations were carried out by Jean Meeus, a Belgian amateur astronomer and a real expert in the field of celestial mechanics. In the time range from 2000 BC. to 7000 AD the longest eclipse he found was seven minutes 35.9 seconds. Unfortunately, we have already missed this, since it happened around 120 BC. e.
In more modern times, the longest eclipse will occur in northern South America on July 16, 2186. Its duration will peak at seven minutes and 29 seconds at a point in the Atlantic Ocean north of Brazil – not too bad, although perhaps in the future, perhaps a little further than those of us alive now can expect.
Keep in mind, this duration only applies if you are stuck on the ground. But what if you fly east along the eclipse’s path, following its path? The Moon’s shadow usually moves across the earth at a speed of about 1 km/s, so a carefully organized plane flight can add quite a bit of time to the totality. In 1973, the Concorde supersonic jet flew the eclipse path over Africa, extending the seven-minute eclipse to an astonishing (and still held) record of 74 minutes!
It must have been quite an adventure, but I suspect that if the eclipse lasts too much for a long time, the thrill fades away. People are bound to get used to anything that lasts long enough, and even the stunning beauty of a total solar eclipse can begin to fade after, say, an hour.
What this really means is that the expansion of totality can only take you so far until other factors become more important. The most obvious one is location. For example, I saw the 2017 US eclipse in Wyoming, which was beautiful but not exactly picturesque where we were. But in 2045, a total eclipse will occur over Arches National Park in Utah; an astute observer (and photographer!) would do well to capture this place between the towering red sandstone hills.
Another example: the path of the August eclipse crosses the Spanish island of Mallorca. Of course, this will happen in the hot summer on the island, but, on the other hand, you will be in Mallorca.
A specific time would also be helpful. A full swim at sunrise or sunset would be spectacular. Malaysian photographer Teo Hui Chieh created stunning time-lapse footage of the Australian annular solar eclipse at sunrise in 2013. More generally, an eclipse when the Sun is magnetically active (as it will be in August) means more sunspots and more structure in the corona, which adds a little spice.
If we look more realistically, then, of course, the weather plays a dominant role. What’s the point of being present for a celestial eclipse if a thunderstorm prevents you from properly experiencing it? This means you should probably prioritize those events that occur in places and times that have the best chance of clear skies. Flying on a plane helps here too, because you can be above the weather. Cruise lines usually run excursions during eclipses as well, and they have the advantage of diverting to another location along the path of totality if the weather looks iffy.
I think the most fantastic prospect would be an eclipse in the sky over an erupting volcano – two of nature’s most magnificent phenomena visible at the same time. Picture it above Etna in Italy during the Strombolian eruption, or in Hawaii with the fountains of Kilauea in the foreground. Unfortunately, neither of these locations will experience a total eclipse in the next decade.
And yet, despite all these exotic maneuvers and locations, ultimately the optimal place to see the eclipse is everywhere you can see. Whether it’s the most exciting place on Earth or the most boring place imaginable, you’ll be able to witness an eclipse – an all-too-rare event in the entire solar system! And that in itself is worth something.