A ‘ring of fire’ on the ice of Antarctica, prelude to the total eclipse in August in Spain | Science

Almost two and a half years after it attracted millions of people throughout the United States, Central America, Brazil and Colombia, this spectacular and photogenic astronomical phenomenon has been repeated, but this time with a much more exclusive audience. This Tuesday, February 17, the first eclipse of 2026 took place: an occultation of the Sun that reached the category of annular – when the Moon has covered the entire solar disk, except for a thin ring -, although only within a strip of about 600 kilometers that has crossed the eastern part of Antarctica, passing only through two inhabited places, but where visitors are not welcome.

Furthermore, this eclipse has been seen as partial—and very pronounced—in almost the entire rest of the Antarctic continent; and also, although with a much lower percentage of occultation, first in the extreme south of South America and, finally, in a good part of southeastern Africa. In those areas, already inhabited, the shadow of the Moon has only given a small nibble to the Sun, 6% of Punta Arenas (Chile), ; and 9% in Ushuaia (Argentina), .

The next time something like this happens, it will be at the beginning of the next total eclipse, which will take place on , which will make Spain the only country in the world where you can see it with guarantees. It will also cross an unpopulated area of ​​Greenland and the western tip of Iceland, in addition to touching a small corner of Portugal.

During the annular eclipse this Tuesday, the locations to observe it were reduced even further. A Franco-Italian research base —— and another Russian —Mirny, on the coast— were the only human settlements from which the annularity phase was theoretically visible. Only the dozens of researchers and technical personnel who inhabit both scientific stations throughout the year were able to try to see it—defying the clouds and the freezing temperatures. There is no space to accommodate tourists or amateur astronomers who follow this type of phenomena around the world.

when the shadow of the Moon began to bite the Sun. From that hour on, the partial eclipse progressed rapidly until it hid more than 96% of the solar disk, at 12:46, when the annular eclipse phase began: the two minutes and nine seconds that the eclipse lasted. ring of fire on the ice of Antarctica. From 12:48 p.m. the eclipse was again partial, and increasingly smaller, until it ended completely at 1:45 p.m.

At that European research base it is still summer and it is so close to the South Pole that this Tuesday it is not completely dark at any time during the 24 hours of the day; Although, as we are already in the last weeks of the southern polar summer, the sun has briefly set below the horizon. He did it just an hour after the astronomical phenomenon completely ended. The annular eclipse occurred, therefore, with the sun very low, near the horizon of the Antarctic plateau that surrounds the Concordia base; and hunting that image would be a precious milestone for any astronomical photography professional.

However, the environment there does not invite you to go outside to observe this natural event. At this time of year, although it is very sunny, the maximum temperatures only reach an average of 33 degrees below zero, and the strong winds make the thermal sensation much colder. It is a place so remote and hostile that the facilities that the European Space Agency (ESA) has there are used. At the time of publishing this news, neither of the two research bases in the trajectory of the annular eclipse have released images of the phenomenon nor have they communicated whether, finally, they were able to see it.

The four eclipses of 2026

The annular eclipses are the highest category solar eclipses, along with the total ones. The difference with them is that the Moon is in the farthest part of its orbit around the Earth. Therefore, its size in the sky is very slightly smaller than usual. Enough to not be able to completely cover the Sun: at the moment of maximum, a ring is visible on the outer edge,

With the annular eclipse this Tuesday, February 17, the first eclipse train of 2026 begins. Just two weeks later, on Tuesday, March 3, there will be a lunar eclipse that will be total in eastern Asia, throughout Oceania and in North America. And eclipses always come grouped in pairs or trios. In this case, 176 days after the Antarctic ring, the second train of eclipses this year will bring the total sun on August 12 in Spain, in an astronomical carom unprecedented in modern history. Two weeks later, on August 28, a partial lunar eclipse will also be visible in the western third of Spain, although it will be centered—and best seen—in America; It will be the fourth and last eclipse of 2026.