Annular solar eclipse 2026: Everything you need to know about the ‘ring of fire’

On Feb. 17, 2026, an annular solar eclipse will be visible from a remote part of Antarctica, forming a “ring of fire” for up to 2 minutes, 20 seconds as 96% of the sun’s center is eclipsed by the moon.

Few will witness that moment, but observers in the rest of Antarctica — including those on cruise ships on late-season tours — will see a partial solar eclipse, as will people in parts of southern Africa and the southern tip of South America.

What’s special about the Feb. 17, 2026 annular solar eclipse?

The eclipse path for the Feb. 17, 2026, annular solar eclipse will be limited to a remote region of Antarctica, so the event will be seen by almost no humans. If you can manage to witness this event, bragging rights will be well deserved. Practically speaking, though, that will be difficult unless you happen to be working at some select research stations in Antarctica.

“It’s possible that only a few people will view this eclipse from within the annular zone,” eclipse meteorologist Jay Anderson wrote on his website, Eclipsophile.com. “It’s a challenge to reach and there are only two inhabited locations within the annular shadow, neither of which is set up to welcome tourists.”

Related: What’s the difference between a total solar eclipse and an annular solar eclipse?

However, mid-February is toward the end of the cruising season in Antarctica, and a well-timed cruise to locations in the Antarctic Peninsula could give you a glimpse of a partial solar eclipse. A partial solar eclipse will also be visible from southeastern Africa.

Perhaps the best place to be on Feb. 17, 2026, will be Concordia, a joint French-Italian research station that opened in 2005 and houses just 16 scientists. It’s one of only three stations in the interior of the Antarctic continent. It can get as cold as minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 80 degrees Celsius) outside; it’s one of the coldest locations on Earth. There, one of the tallest towers in Antarctica measures atmospheric data and helps calibrate Earth observation satellites. There’s also an underground vault, two observation platforms, telescopes and an airstrip.

If Concordia is the first inhabited place to see the ring of fire, Mirny Station will be the second and final. Mirny was the first Russian station in Antarctica, established in 1956 in Queen Mary Land on the Davis Sea coast. Its few dozen inhabitants study climate, sea ice, cosmic rays, meteorology, glaciology and biodiversity.

Path of annularity for the Feb. 17, 2026 annular solar eclipse

The path of annularity for the Feb. 17, 2026, annular solar eclipse — where the “ring of fire” will be visible — is 2,661 miles (4,282 kilometers) long and 383 miles (616 km) wide.

The eclipse will rise over mainland Antarctica and set off the Davis Sea coast of the Southern Ocean. The moon’s antumbral shadow — which creates the ring of fire — will take around 59 minutes to cross Earth, from 11:42 to 12:41 UTC. The ring of fire will be visible only to those in Antarctica or the Southern Ocean.

Where and when can I see the Feb. 17, 2026 annular solar eclipse?

Here are the very limited places the ring of fire may be seen during the annular solar eclipse on Feb. 17, 2026:

Location: Concordia Research Station (French-Italian)

Annularity duration: 2 minutes, 1 second

Time: 11:46 UTC

Sun height: 5 degrees above 241 degrees azimuth

Location: Mirny Station; Queen Mary Land, Antarctica (Russia)

Annularity duration: 1 minute, 52 seconds

Time: 12:07 UTC

Sun height: 10 degrees above west 264 degrees azimuth

What will the weather be like for the Feb. 17, 2026 annular solar eclipse?

The prospects for clear skies are not good for this eclipse.

As Anderson wrote on Eclipsophile, cloud cover is likely over the ocean and coasts. Mirny Station has about 65% cloud cover that time of the year. Mainland Antarctica has around 35% — so Concordia will have the highest chance of seeing the ring of fire — but it will be extremely cold.

However, there can be an “eclipse effect” with the cooling of the land by the moon’s shadow, which sometimes causes convective clouds to dissipate across the path.

In the wider partial eclipse zone, inland southern Africa is where clear skies are most likely, according to Time and Date, although it will be less than a 15% partial eclipse there.

Where to see the partial solar eclipse on Feb. 17, 2026

On Feb. 17, 2026, a partial solar eclipse will be visible across Antarctica; southeastern Africa; the southern tip of South America; and in the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic and Southern oceans. Here’s what will be seen from research stations in Antarctica and various islands, cities and destinations in the partial eclipse zone:

After Feb. 17, 2026, when is the next annular solar eclipse?

After Feb. 17, 2026, these are the dates and locations for the next annular solar eclipses:

Feb. 6, 2027: Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria

Jan. 26, 2028: Galápagos Islands, mainland Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Suriname, French Guiana, Morocco and Spain

June 1, 2030: Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Japan

May 21, 2031: Angola, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, India, Sri Lanka, the Nicobar Islands, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia

May 9, 2032: Southern Ocean

Sept. 12, 2034: Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Gough Island

March 9, 2035: New Zealand and Reao Atoll (Tuamotos)

Additional resources

You can find a concise summary of all solar eclipses out to 2030 on NASA’s eclipse website. Read more about solar and lunar eclipses on EclipseWise.com, a website dedicated to predictions of eclipses, and find beautiful maps on eclipse cartographer Michael Zeiler’s EclipseAtlas.com and interactive Google Maps on Xavier Jubier’s eclipse website. You can find climate and weather predictions by meteorologist Jay Anderson on eclipsophile.com.