08/11/2026
A Total Solar Eclipse (But Not Here)
Have you heard of syzygy? No, that’s not a typo – it’s what we call a straight-line alignment of three celestial bodies, such as the Sun, Moon, and Earth during a solar eclipse. Since parts of the world will experience a total solar eclipse tomorrow, let’s take a moment to go over what a solar eclipse is, what one looks like, who will be lucky enough to view tomorrow’s total eclipse, and when we will have another chance to see a solar eclipse in our area!
⭐ What is a solar eclipse?
A solar eclipse is a celestial event that occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth so that the Moon blocks the Sun’s light, leaving part of Earth in shadow. But, as you may know, the Moon is often positioned in-between the Sun and Earth, as evidenced by the new moon phase each month. So why don’t we have solar eclipses every month or so? It all has to do with the angle between the plane of the Moon’s orbit and the plane of Earth’s orbit (the ecliptic). The Moon’s orbit is tilted about 5° from Earth’s, which is enough of a difference to be just out of alignment, except for twice a year when the Moon and Earth’s orbits cross at a point called a lunar node. A solar eclipse can only occur when a new moon lines up directly at one of the lunar nodes. Solar eclipses typically happen around 2-5 times per year, but since Earth is so large and the shadow is relatively small, they don’t always occur in areas where humans can view them, nor is each eclipse perfectly aligned. There are four main types of solar eclipses:
- Total Solar Eclipse – The Moon completely blocks the Sun, and the Sun’s outer atmosphere (the corona) is visible. The sky appears as dark as night at totality (maximum eclipse).
- Annular Solar Eclipse – The Moon is at or near its farthest point in its orbit around Earth (called apogee), so it appears a little smaller in the sky and doesn’t fully cover the entirety of the Sun. A ring of sunlight, called the “ring of fire” is still visible around the Moon.
- Partial Solar Eclipse – The alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth isn’t perfect, so the Moon only covers a portion of the Sun, leaving a crescent of the Sun still visible.
- Hybrid Solar Eclipse – This is the rarest type of solar eclipse, where the eclipse looks like a total eclipse in some areas of the world and an annular eclipse in other areas of the world. Hybrid eclipses require the Moon to be at a distance where the dark shadow (the umbra) and the extended shadow (the antumbra) both nearly reach Earth. Since Earth is a sphere, parts of the curved surface are closer to the Moon than other parts and the eclipse looks different from different locations.
The really cool thing is that the size and distance match between the Sun, Moon, and Earth is just right for producing solar eclipses. The Sun happens to be about 400 times wider than the Moon, but it also happens to be about 400 times farther away from Earth, so both objects appear to be a similar size in the sky. If the Moon were smaller or orbited farther from Earth, it would be too small to block the entirety of the Sun. Similarly, if the Moon were larger or orbited closer to Earth, it would still block the Sun but we wouldn’t be able to see the corona. In fact, since the Moon is moving about 1.5 inches farther away from Earth each year, in about 600 million years the Moon will appear too small to cover up the Sun during an eclipse!
⭐ What does a total solar eclipse look like?
First of all, we have to talk about safely looking at the Sun! It is never, ever ok to look at the Sun with your naked eyes. The Sun’s brightness can cause our eyes to experience extreme pain, irreversible damage, and even blindness. The ONLY time you should ever look up at the Sun is when you are wearing certified and inspected eclipse glasses or you are looking through an instrument that has a powerful solar filter. Sunglasses definitely won’t cut it. But if you aren’t able to get eclipse glasses, you can still safely view the eclipse using a pinhole camera.
Assuming you do have proper eye protection, you will witness several phases during a solar eclipse:
- First Contact – The side of the Moon nearest the Sun just starts to touch the edge of the Sun’s disk.
- Second Contact – The leading side of the Moon reaches the farther edge of the now-crescent Sun, officially beginning the eclipse.
- Totality – The Moon is completely covering the sun and blocking its light, but the corona is visible around the edges. Totality lasts about 2-5 minutes, depending on the location on Earth from where the eclipse is viewed.
- Third Contact – The leading side of the Moon reaches the edge of the Sun so that it is no longer fully covered, ending the total eclipse.
- Fourth Contact – The trailing edge of the Moon reaches the opposite side of the Sun and the two bodies no longer appear to overlap in the sky.
In simpler terms, during a total solar eclipse you will notice that the bright daytime sky will slowly dim as the Moon begins to move in front of the Sun. Colors will start to fade and the sky will adopt an eerie twilight appearance. Just before totality, you may observe Baily’s beads around the edges of the Moon, which are bright points of light that pass through the valleys and craters on the surface of the Moon. You could also see a brief moment just before totality where a single bright spot of sunlight on the edge of the Moon remains, appearing similar to a bright diamond on a glowing (corona) ring. Once totality hits, you may see a 360° sunset on the horizon as the sky transitions to a dark “nighttime” sky. You may even see several stars or planets. Finally, as the Moon continues to cross in front of the Sun, daylight returns and the sky goes back to its normal daytime brightness.
⭐ Why can’t we see the solar eclipse from here in Washington?
During an eclipse, the Moon’s shadow falls on Earth in a relatively narrow area. Unfortunately, that narrow shadow path will be located thousands of miles away from Washington during this solar eclipse. The path of totality will cross over parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia, and Portugal.
⭐ When is the next total solar eclipse we will be able to see in Washington?
Well, unless you plan on living for another 143 years or so, you’ll need to travel out of state to see a total solar eclipse! The next total solar eclipse in the United States will be visible only in northwestern Alaska (and part of Russia). Another total eclipse will be visible in Montana and North Dakota in 2044, and a coast-to-coast total eclipse will take place a year later in 2045, though you still won’t be in the path of totality in Washington. So, if you want a chance to see a total solar eclipse with your own (protected) eyes, you’ll need to travel!
📷: A composite image of the total solar eclipse in Oregon in 2017. Via NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
