Moon lovers and skywatchers throughout South Africa may have the chance to witness a partial photo voltaic eclipse on Tuesday, 17 February 2026, with the phenomenon seen from giant elements of the nation, reviews Cape {city} And so on.
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In line with the South African Nationwide House Company (SANSA), the eclipse will happen when the moon passes between the Earth and the solar, partially obscuring the solar from view.
Throughout a partial photo voltaic eclipse, the moon, solar and Earth don’t align in a wonderfully straight line, that means solely the outer a part of the moon’s shadow (often known as the penumbra) is forged onto Earth.
‘This seems as if the moon has taken a “chunk” out of the solar within the afternoon sky,’ reported SANSA.
Whereas the complete eclipse (sometimes called the ‘ring of fireplace’) will solely be seen from distant elements of Antarctica, South African observers will have the ability to see the moon obscure a small portion of the solar in the course of the afternoon.
Within the Western Cape, round 5% photo voltaic protection is anticipated at most eclipse.
The partial eclipse will start at 2:01pm SAST, attain its most at 2:23pm SAST, and conclude at 3:24pm SAST, lasting a complete of 1 hour and 23 minutes.
SANSA will livestream the occasion from its facility in Hermanus utilizing its newly acquired photo voltaic telescope. The company mentioned the telescope will function a redundancy instrument for observing the solar on the SANSA House Climate Centre, and that the eclipse offers a possibility to reveal its capabilities whereas providing the general public a real-time view of the occasion.
To livestream the eclipse, go to SANSA’s YouTube web page right here.
As anticipation builds, security stays a crucial concern. SANSA has urged the general public to not look instantly on the solar with out correct safety.
‘Viewers are suggested to guard their eyes and by no means look instantly on the solar however as an alternative use eclipse glasses or particular photo voltaic filters,’ mentioned SANSA.
In line with Time and date, odd sun shades should not secure for viewing a photo voltaic eclipse. Correct eye safety, corresponding to licensed eclipse glasses or specialist photo voltaic filters, is required.
Supplies that ought to by no means be used to view a photo voltaic eclipse, as per NASA:
Color movie
Medical X-ray movie
Smoked glass
Floppy disks
Sun shades of any variety
Direct publicity to the solar, even for just a few seconds, can burn the retina and trigger everlasting eye harm or blindness.
The publication added that projection strategies (corresponding to a pinhole or field projector) provide a secure different, however viewers ought to by no means look via a telescope’s eyepiece or finder scope whereas projecting the solar’s picture.
Eclipse glasses have to be worn always throughout a partial eclipse, and through any part when the solar’s disk is seen. Photo voltaic filters have to be particularly designed for eclipse viewing and will by no means be used with telescopes or binoculars until they’re specialist filters made for these gadgets.
For many who miss the occasion, make sure to catch the subsequent partial lunar eclipse that can be seen in Cape City on 28 August 2026.
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