An Annular Total Solar Eclipse Occurred Over Antarctica

• 17.02.2026, 21:38

Photofact.

In the Southern Hemisphere, in the circumpolar latitudes, a rare phenomenon - an annular total solar eclipse - took place, the press service of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute reported.

The total eclipse phase lasted a little longer than 2 minutes, and the total duration of the event was about four and a half hours.

"At 15:13 Minsk time, the Moon closed about 0.963 diameter of the solar disk, leaving visible a thin "annular" part of the Sun," the report says.

A total solar eclipse becomes annular when the Moon is far enough from the Earth and cannot completely cover the Sun in the sky. In such a case, the Sun's bright rim remains visible, although this effect prevents the solar corona and stars near it from being seen.

Scientists noted that the best visibility was at circumpolar latitudes.