Next Solar Eclipse on January 4, 2011
A partial solar eclipse will occur on January 4, 2011. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partially obscuring Earth’s view of the Sun. The eclipse will be visible over most of Europe, the Arabian peninsula, North Africa and Western Asia.
In 2012, an annular eclipse in which the Moon’s disk is a little too small to cover the entire Sun will pass from Japan over the Pacific to California and farther into the U.S. on May 20. On November 14, 2012, a total solar eclipse, in which it becomes dark as twilight, will start in northeastern Australia and cross a broad swath of the South Pacific.
