Today Sees A ‘Ring Of Fire,’ The Last Major Solar Eclipse For 680 Days

The next eclipse is today, Oct. 2, when a spectacular “ring of fire” annular solar eclipse (not to be confused with April 8's total solar eclipse across North America) will be visible across the South Pacific, southern South America and the South Atlantic.

Here’s everything you need to know about it.

Where Today’s Solar Eclipse Is Happening

The moment to watch is when it strikes Easter Island/Rapa Nui, a remote island of just 63 square miles (163 square kilometers) in the Pacific Ocean, about 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometers) west of Chile. It's famous for its 1,043 moai, human-like monoliths that stare at the ocean, constructed between 1250 and 1500.

Where And When To Livestream Today’s Solar Eclipse

Its "ring of fire"—when an 87% hole in the sun will be visible—will be seen through solar filters just after 3:00 p.m. EDT and 8:00 p.m. GMT. You can watch it live on Timeanddate's livestream on YouTube. The "ring of fire" will be seen from Chile and Argentina about 75 minutes later.

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The Next Major Solar Eclipse

On average, solar eclipses happen four times each calendar year, though, for annular and totals, it's less often. Typically, there's a year or 2.5 years between total solar eclipses.

Here are the next few solar eclipses:

• March 29, 2025: partial solar eclipse (Europe, North in Asia, North/West Africa, Much of North America, North in South America, Atlantic, Arctic).
• Sept. 21, 2025: partial solar eclipse (south in Australia, Pacific, Atlantic, Antarctica).
• Feb. 17, 2026: annular solar eclipse (south in Africa, south in South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctica).

As you can see, these are minor events. We'll need to wait until August 12, 2026, when a total solar eclipse will be visible in Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Totality will last up to 2 minutes 18 seconds

Total Solar Eclipse 2026

You’ll need to be within a roughly 187-mile (301 kilometers) path of totality, stretching from remote Siberia across eastern Greenland, western Iceland, the North Atlantic and northern Spain. There's a high chance of clouds from Iceland and the northwest coast of Spain, so there is no guarantee, but this promises to be a dramatic eclipse. For example, in Spain, the eclipse will be seen close to the horizon, where observers will face down the moon’s elongated shadow as it moves across.

Meanwhile, special eclipse cruises will position eclipse-chasers inside the moon’s central shadow, in Greenland, close to Iceland and Spain, and the Mediterranean.

Beyond 2026

There may be a long wait until the next solar eclipse of any importance, but if you caught the eclipse bug in 2024, it's time to start forward planning.

The total solar eclipse in 2026 will kick-start a period of three in less than three years, with 2027's event followed on August 2, 2027 (Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia) and July 22, 2028 (Australia and New Zealand).

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.