In what is undoubtedly one of nature’s most awe-inspiring spectacles, a total eclipse happens when the moon completely covers the sun as seen from Earth. For a few brief minutes, the day turns to night, and the sun’s outer atmosphere becomes visible.
Lasting just over a minute, the totality for Thursday’s eclipse begins at 11.29am Australian Western Standard Time. While the path of totality does not cross New Zealand, stargazers across the North Island get to see the moon take a small bite out of the sun in a partial eclipse just before 5pm on Thursday.
While we miss out this time, don’t get too disheartened. The next few years promise some rich pickings for South Island solar eclipse chasers. The next solar eclipse visible from these parts occurs on the morning of September 22, 2025. On that day, the sun will rise just before 6.30am in the east. The eclipse will already be in progress at sunrise, so if the sky is clear, people on Otago Peninsula should get some fantastic views as our nearest star rises over the southern ocean.
Over the next 45 minutes, the moon will cover more and more of the sun. Maximum eclipse is at 7.12am, when nearly 80% of the solar surface will be covered by the moon. At that time, the sun will be just 7 degrees above the horizon, and its uneclipsed crescent will resemble a bright banana suspended in the sky.
Of course, everyone is looking forward to the eclipse on July 22, 2028. On that day, just after 4.15pm, the sun will be totally eclipsed for under three minutes on a narrow path that crosses New Zealand from Milford Sound to Dunedin.
It is just over five years until the greatest celestial spectacle comes to Otago. I can’t wait!
