The First Total Solar Eclipse in Two Years Is Coming in July

If you saved your protective glasses from 2017's solar eclipse, now's the time to dig them out of storage. A total solar eclipse, the first one visible from Earth in nearly two years, will occur over parts of South America and the South Pacific on July 2, 2019.

What is a solar eclipse?

There are several different types of eclipses, including lunar (when the Moon passes beneath our planet's shadow) and annular (when the Sun's edges are visible as a ring around the Moon). A total eclipse is the best-known and most anticipated of such phenomena: When the Moon is in the right position in the sky, it perfectly aligns with the Earth and the Sun, appearing to totally block out the Sun from certain vantage points. While partial solar eclipses, in which the Moon only covers part of the Sun, can happen a few times a year, total solar eclipses are much rarer.

Where to Watch the Total Solar Eclipse of 2019

Unlike the last total solar eclipse in 2017, this next one doesn't fall over the United States. Most of it will be obscured above the Pacific Ocean, but a small section of the path of totality will be visible from South America. On Tuesday, July 2 around sunset, people in parts of Chile and Argentina can look to the horizon and see the Moon cross the Sun. The event may be worth the trip for eclipse chasers: the Andean region where the eclipse will take place is known for its low humidity and clear skies at high altitudes.

This particular total eclipse is also notable for its duration. At its peak, totality will last four minutes and 33 seconds—which exceeds the peak totality of the total solar eclipse in 2017. But to see the Moon block the Sun for that long, sky-gazers will need to take a boat into the middle of the South Pacific.