The Only Total Solar Eclipse of 2021 Is Happening This Saturday

If you missed that pre-Thanksgiving lunar eclipse, don’t worry. There’s another chance coming right up for you to stay up late and ponder the stars. On Saturday, December 4, 2021 there will be a total solar eclipse for nearly two minutes.

The eclipse will take place around 2:42 a.m. Eastern Time or 11:42 p.m. Pacific, though if you’re viewing from the United States you won’t be able to see that much difference in the sky due to the eclipse’s path and the phase of the moon.

Antartica will get the best views of the nighttime eclipse, though as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, even astronomers at the icy continent’s South Pole Telescope station will be too far away for prime observation. Parts of South America, Australia, Africa, and New Zealand may also be able to observe the eclipse.

While it may not be as dramatic to look at as November’s lunar eclipse, a total solar eclipse is still a significant astrological phenomenon, and this will be the only one to have occurred in 2021. The next total solar eclipse will not take place until April 20, 2023.

RELATED: When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Vegan Moon Pie, That’s This Recipe

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