Don’t Miss: April 2022 Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth and casts its shadow on Earth. Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

On April 30, 2022, a partial solar eclipse will be visible in parts of South America, Antarctica, and the Pacific and Southern Oceans.

On Saturday, April 30, 2022, people in parts of southern South America, Antarctica, and the Pacific and Southern Oceans will have a chance to witness a partial eclipse of the Sun just before and during sunset. Although most of the world will not be able to see it in person, you can watch it live online via the NASA Youtube Channel.

The Sun appears partially eclipsed in this series of photos taken from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on August 21, 2017. Credit: NASA/Noah Moran

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth, fully or partially blocking the Sun’s light in some areas. During a partial eclipse, the Moon and Sun are not perfectly aligned, so the Moon does not completely cover the Sun. This gives the Sun a crescent shape, or makes it appear as if a “bite” has been taken out of the Sun, depending on how much of the Sun is covered by the Moon.

This animation shows where and when the partial solar eclipse will be visible on April 30, 2022. The bright side of the globe is in daytime while the dark side is in nighttime at the time shown in the upper right (given in Universal Time). The gray oval-shaped region shows where the Moon’s shadow will appear on the planet, and where the partial solar eclipse can be seen. Credit: NASA

As it sets in the west on the evening of April 30, the Sun will appear partially eclipsed for those with clear skies in Chile, Argentina, most of Uruguay, western Paraguay, southwestern Bolivia, southeastern Peru, and a small area of southwestern Brazil.

The eclipse will also be visible along parts of the northwestern coastline of Antarctica, in the Atlantic Ocean just off the southeastern coast of South America, including the Falkland Islands, and in much of the South Pacific Ocean and Southern Ocean.

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth, fully or partially blocking the Sun’s light in some areas. This fact sheet explains more about solar eclipses, eclipse safety, and eclipse activities. Download the PDF. Credit: NASA

How to Safely Watch a Partial Eclipse

It is never safe to look directly at the Sun without a safe solar filter, even if the Sun is partly or mostly obscured. When watching a partial solar eclipse, you must wear solar viewing or eclipse glasses throughout the entire eclipse if you want to face the Sun. Solar viewing or eclipses glasses are NOT regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses are not safe for viewing the Sun.

If you don’t have solar viewing or eclipse glasses, you can use an alternate indirect method, such as a pinhole projector. Pinhole projectors shouldn’t be used to look directly at the Sun, but instead to project sunlight onto a surface. Read a how-to guide for creating a pinhole viewer.