Total Solar Eclipse 2021: Year’s Last Eclipse Is On December 4. Who Can See & What’s Special About It

The only total solar eclipse of 2021 will occur on December 4. Only one place on Earth will be able to see the total solar eclipse, but the partial phase will be visible in many parts of the world.

Only one place on Earth will be able to see the total solar eclipse on Dec 4 | Getty Images

New Delhi: A total solar eclipse will occur on December 4, and this will be the year’s last eclipse.

Only one place on Earth will be able to see the total solar eclipse, though the partial phase will be visible in many parts of the world, according to timeanddate.com.

This is going to be the only total solar eclipse of 2021. 

The next total solar eclipse will be visible on April 20, 2023. 

What Is A Total Solar Eclipse?

When the New Moon (position of the moon in which the Sun and Earth are on its opposite sides) comes between the Sun and Earth, and casts the darkest part of its shadow, called the umbra, on Earth, a total solar eclipse occurs. 

The Moon covers the entire disk of the Sun during a total solar eclipse. A total solar eclipse is visible only in those regions of the world, which are located in the path of the Moon's umbra. 

Those outside the path see a partial solar eclipse, where the Moon blocks only a part of the Sun. 

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse. A partial lunar eclipse will occur on November 18 and 19. 

A total solar eclipse has five stages: beginning of partial solar eclipse (first contact); beginning of total solar eclipse (second contact); totality and maximum eclipse; end of total eclipse (third contact); and end of partial eclipse (fourth contact). 

A total solar eclipse can last for several hours and totality can range from a few seconds to 7.5 minutes, according to timeanddate.com.

Who Can See The Solar Eclipse On December 4?

The total solar eclipse will sweep across Antarctica on December 4, which will be the only place where the total phase of the solar eclipse will be seen. 

The partial phase of the solar eclipse will be visible in southern parts of Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and South America, and the Pacific, Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean, according to timeanddate.com.

The total solar eclipse will not be visible in India. However, one can see the eclipse via a live webcam — from 10:59 am to 3:07 pm IST, according to timeanddate.com.

One can determine the visibility of the 2021 total solar eclipse in a particular region using two interactive eclipse maps on the timeanddate.com website. These are a detailed eclipse path map and a 3D globe map. The website also provides the exact timing of the eclipse from one's location.

People can also use NASA's orthographic map, which is a detailed map of the eclipse's visibility, on December 4.

Using NASA's animated map, the moon’s shadows across Earth can be visualised. 

Google maps will also provide an interactive map of the eclipse's path.