Astro Trails Eclipse Articles

The 2027 total solar eclipse is set to be one of the most extraordinary celestial events of the century. With an incredible maximum totality of 6 minutes 23 seconds, the eclipse shadow will sweep across parts of North Africa and the Middle East on 2 August 2027, offering exceptional viewing opportunities in some of the world’s most dramatic landscapes.

An eclipse of the Sun occurs when the orbit of the moon passes in front of the Sun as seen from the Earth. The shadow of the moon follows...

There are five stages in a total solar eclipse:​ Partial eclipse begins (1st contact): The Moon becomes visible over the Sun's disk. It...

When the Moon is at a more distant point of its orbit the Sun is not completely covered and a very small, bright circle or annulus remains visible around the moon. This is known as an annular eclipse and although it lacks the unique drama of a total eclipse, it is an unusual and interesting event particularly when it is possible to observe the effect of the declining light levels on wildlife. Astro Trails current eclipse projects can be viewed here Photo credit: Nick James...

Success in observing an eclipse requires a mix of detailed research and, as far as the weather goes, an element of luck! You need to know...

The Eclipse observation site ​On the day of the eclipse you will want to get to your observation site in good time before “first contact”....

Astro Trails current eclipse projects can be viewed here Greenland, Iceland and Spain - Total Solar Eclipse August 2026 Egypt and North Africa - Total Solar Eclipse August 2027 #totalsolareclipse #whenisthenexteclipse #nexttotalsolareclipse #astrotrailseclipse #astrotrails

The total solar eclipse of 2020 December 14 started at sunrise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, fortuitously reached its maximum duration of 2m 10s as it swept across a thin strip of south America and ended at sunset off the coast of Namibia. The centre of the umbral shadow swept across Chile and Argentina in less than 19 minutes and these were the only two countries where observation from land was possible. The weather prospects were generally better to the east of the An

The centre of the umbra of the 2019 July 2 Total Solar Eclipse first touched the Earth’s surface at 18:02 UTC in the Pacific, north east of New Zealand. It then crossed that vast ocean, crossing dry land only once at the tiny Oeno Island (a member of the Pitcairn group) before making landfall at La Serena on the Chilean coast at 20:40 UTC. The shadow crossed the continent of South America in four minutes lifting off the Earth at sunset just south of Buenos Aires. I was with