Very deep partial solar eclipse to shadow Antarctica and New Zealand on September 21
A very deep partial solar eclipse will occur at 19:43 UTC on September 21, 2025, visible across Antarctica, New Zealand, and parts of southern Australia. At maximum, the Moon will cover up to 85% of the Sun’s diameter, with obscuration reaching nearly 80% of the solar disk.
Partial solar eclipse seen from space. Credit: ESA/Royal Observatory of Belgium
A very deep partial solar eclipse will occur at 19:43 UTC on September 21, primarily visible from Antarctica, New Zealand, and parts of southern Australia. The eclipse magnitude is 0.8550, with up to 85% of the Sun’s diameter obscured at maximum and approximately 79.7% obscuration of the solar disk.
The partial eclipse will begin at 17:30 UTC, reach maximum at 19:43 UTC, and end near 21:54 UTC.
Auckland, New Zealand will see about 60% of coverage, Wellington 66%, Christchurch 69%, and Invercargill 72%. However, in some Antarctic regions the coverage will approach 80%.
This eclipse belongs to Solar Saros 154, specifically member 7 of 71 in the series.
Saros 154 began with a partial eclipse on July 19, 1917, and will end with another partial on August 25, 3179. Of its 71 members, 56 are umbral eclipses, including 17 annular, 3 hybrid, and 36 total. The previous eclipse in this series occurred on September 11, 2007, while the next, on October 3, 2043, will be annular.
At the time of this eclipse, the Moon will be about 4.6 days before apogee, resulting in a slightly smaller apparent lunar diameter. The event occurs at the Moon’s descending node, with the shadow axis passing south of Earth’s center by 1.065 Earth radii (gamma = –1.0651).
This will be the final solar eclipse of 2025, following a total lunar eclipse earlier that month.
In 2026, two significant solar eclipses are expected; an annular eclipse on February 17 over parts of Antarctica, and a total eclipse on August 12 visible across the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, and Spain.
References:
1 Partial Solar Eclipse of September 21, 2025 – NASA/Fred Espenak – Accessed September 16, 2025
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