Annular solar eclipse today! 1st solar eclipse of the year

At 12:12 UTC today lucky observers in Antarctica saw the moon blot out the bulk of the sun, leaving only a spectacular “ring of fire” in the sky. It was the first solar eclipse of the year! In this video from our February 11 livestream, EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd explains what an annular eclipse is and what other eclipses will occur this year. At the same time, images are circulating about a dramatic 6-planet lineup. Plus Marcy Curran joins in to help us take a clear-eyed look at the 6-planet claims for February 2026. We help you separate sky facts from social media hype. Click in for real astronomy, gentle myth-busting and a closer look at what’s truly happening in our February sky. Watch in the player above or on YouTube.

EarthSky’s 2026 lunar calendar shows the moon phase for every day of the year. Get yours today!

Annular solar eclipse February 17, 2026

The first solar eclipse of 2026 was an annular – sometimes called a “ring of fire” – solar eclipse at 12:12 UTC today, Tuesday, February 17. This annular solar eclipse was fun to think about. Only a few hundred million of Earth’s 8.3 billion inhabitants saw even the partial phases. The partial eclipse was visible from areas including the southern tip of South America, southern Africa, the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and most of Antarctica. Meanwhile, the path of the annular eclipse crossed remote parts of Antarctica and the southern regions of the Southern Ocean.

It was viewed mainly from year-round scientific research stations in Antarctica, including the Concordia Research Station (a French-Italian station) and the Russian Mirny Station in Queen Mary Land on the eastern part of the continent. The primary American base in Antarctica is McMurdo Station. McMurdo saw a deep partial eclipse, with the sun 86% blotted out by the moon.

Eclipse times

Here are some times for the annular solar eclipse on February 17, 2026:

• Partial eclipse began at 9:56 UTC
• Maximum eclipse began at 12:12 UTC
• Partial eclipse ended at 14:27 UTC

NOTE: An annular eclipse is a partial eclipse. You must use the proper eye protection at all times. This eclipse is never safe to view without it.

Important eclipse links

For precise timing from your location check timeanddate.com

The Solar Eclipse Circumstances Calculator is an interactive web page

Click here to learn to watch a solar eclipse safely

Watch an animation of the path of the annular solar eclipse at timeanddate.com

Watch an animation of the path of the annular eclipse at In-the-Sky.org

Another animation of the eclipse at Eclipsewise.com

Why is it called an annular eclipse?

Astronomers call this an annular eclipse of the sun. That name comes from the Latin word for ring: annulus. During this eclipse, the moon was too far away in its orbit to cover the sun completely. At mid-eclipse, the outer surface of the sun appeared in a ring around the moon.

So, though not as dramatic as a total solar eclipse, an annular eclipse is fascinating to view. The sky darkens as the partial phases deepen. Little crescent suns appear all around you, as the tiny gaps between tree leaves act like camera lenses, projecting an inverted image of the sun onto the ground below or nearby walls. But, during an annular eclipse, the sky never turns completely dark. Stars and planets don’t pop into view. It’s the sun itself – and the tiny projected crescents – that’ll captivate you. Click here to learn to watch a solar eclipse safely.

As for any eclipse, you really only need to know two things. First, how much of the sun will be covered from your location? Second, what time is the eclipse from your location? But again for the February 17, 2026, eclipse, only those at the southernmost part of Earth will see even the partial phases.

Overall, the February 17, 2026 annular eclipse lasted 271 minutes. At maximum eclipse – for those using safe solar viewing techniques along the central eclipse path – the sun was 96% covered by the moon. The sun showed the “ring of fire” effect for about 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

Overview of the February 17 annular solar eclipse

The February 17 annular eclipse began at 11:42 UTC. That’s when the moon’s antumbral shadow first falls on Earth, sweeping along a path on Earth’s surface that is 383 miles (616 km) wide and 2,661 miles (4,282 km) long.

Then the annular eclipse sun reached greatest eclipse at 12:13 UTC, with a duration of 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

Note that, for us in the Americas, this eclipse was taking place overnight on February 16-17. Greatest eclipse fell at 12:13 UTC, 13 minutes after midnight, Central Standard Time, on February 17.

Meanwhile, those outside the shadow path saw a partial solar eclipse. Important: this was not a total eclipse. And the first thing to remember, at no time during a partial eclipse it is safe to look at the sun without proper eye protection.

Moon, constellation, Saros

Greatest eclipse took place at 12:11 UTC on February 17, 6.8 days after the moon reached apogee, its farthest point from Earth for the month. During the February 17, 2026, eclipse, the sun was located in the direction of the constellation Aquarius.

This eclipse had a magnitude of 0.9630.

The Saros catalog describes the periodicity of eclipses. The eclipse belongs to Saros 121. It is number 61 of 71 eclipses in the series. All eclipses in this series occur at the moon’s ascending node. The moon moves southward with respect to the node with each succeeding eclipse in the series.

This was 2026’s 1st solar eclipse

There will be a second solar eclipse in 2026 – on August 12, 2026 – and it’ll be a total solar eclipse whose path of totality passes over the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland and Spain. And observers in much of Western Europe and North America will see a partial eclipse.

Bottom line: On February 17, 2026, an annular solar eclipse was visible from Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Also, it was visible as a partial eclipse from areas including the southern tip of South America, southern Africa and most of Antarctica.

Read more: Why is there no eclipse every full and new moon?

Read more: New mission could create artificial solar eclipses in space