Have you ever experienced a total solar eclipse? Most Britons answer that with “I think so”, recalling times when they squinted at the sun through some eclipse glasses or a welding mask. If that’s you then, no, you did not taste ‘totality’. Most likely you saw a partial eclipse in 1999 (unless you were in cloudy Cornwall), in 2015, or in June 2021 when a small chunk of the sun was temporarily obscured from the UK.
Eclipse-chasers don’t care about partial solar eclipses. They chase only totality, that few minutes when 100 per cent of the sun is blocked and a moonshadow rushes across those standing within a narrow path across the Earth. An event such as the one that was witnessed in northwest Australia, East Timor and West Papua earlier today. Totality brings darkness, a primeval fear and fabulous views of the sun’s delicate ice-white corona spraying into space. When it’s over there’s only one question: when is the next eclipse? The answer can take you on a tour of some of the world’s most iconic sights…
A woman watches today’s total eclipse in Jakarta
Credit: Anadolu Agency
1. Great North American Eclipse 2024
On April 8, 2024 comes a ‘Great American Eclipse’ that lasts even longer than the previous one in 2017. North America is currently enjoying a golden age of eclipses, and this one will bring a long totality along a path stretching from Mazatlán in Mexico to Newfoundland in Canada via 12 US states. Niagara Falls is the plum location, though the chances of clear skies in spring are best in Torreón, Mexico. This is also the location expected to enjoy the longest duration.
Astro Trails is running trips that will observe the eclipse at Niagara Falls, Waco (Texas) and Torreón (Mexico) from £1,275pp (01422 887110; astro-trails.com).
2. The Atlantic Eclipse 2026
On August 12, 2026 the UK will get a 90 per cent solar eclipse, but a precious totality will be only a short flight away. Iceland is an option, but far more likely to be cloudy than northern Spain, where the eclipse nevertheless occurs dangerously low in the sky close to sunset. The savvy will head between Valladolid and Burgos while risk-takers will pray for an eclipsed sunset in a clear sky from Sant Elm, Mallorca.
Photos show the 2023 hybrid solar eclipse, as seen from Lautem, East Timor
Credit: AP
3. The North African Eclipse 2027
If you want to make an eclipse-chaser smile then ask what they’re doing on August 2, 2027. Answer: basking in six minutes 22 seconds totality over Luxor in Egypt. Yes, that Luxor, home to the Karnak Temple and the royal tombs of the Valley of the Queens and Kings. Expect intense heat and immense crowds, though totality will also grace Tangiers in Morocco and even the Star Wars film set for Mos Espa in Tunisia.
The total eclipse over Luxor in Egypt is the one eclipsers are most looking forward to this decade
Credit: Getty
4. The Great Antipodean Eclipse 2028
You probably won’t be able to resist being in Sydney Harbour’s brief darkness on July 22, 2028, but you should go to Western Australia’s remote Kimberley region for a totality lasting five minutes 10 seconds. The moonshadow strikes Purnululu National Park (for the Bungle Bungles), Karlu Karlu (the Devil’s Marbles) in the Northern Territory and the Blue Mountains in New South Wales too, and totality will also adorn the remote Christmas Island and Queenstown, New Zealand.
5. The Skeleton Coast Eclipse 2030
An hour after sunrise on November 25, 2030 a totality lasting one minutes 51 seconds will visit Namibia’s Skeleton Coast and the Namib desert, where the chance of clear skies is excellent. If you need another option then consider a safari in Botswana’s Mabuasehube Game Reserve, a remote offshoot of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Those in Eyre Peninsula in Streaky Bay, South Australia, will see a low eclipse close to sunset.
Jamie Carter is the Editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com