Uploaded March 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
South Africa witnessed a partial eclipse of the Sun, late afternoon on 26 February 2017. From Cape Town, 52% of the Sun was covered as the Moon moved across its face, taking about two hours from beginning to end. This video, made from still images, shows the whole process, using snapshots.
Quoted from Sky Guide Africa South:
"A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon blocks sunlight that normally falls on Earth and can only occur at the time of New Moon. Because the plane of the Moon’s orbit is tilted slightly
to the ecliptic, in most months the Sun–Moon–Earth alignment is not exact and the Moon’s shadow misses the Earth. When the
alignment is correct, the Sun is eclipsed. When the observer is directly in the line Earth–Moon–Sun, the eclipse is either total
or annular, depending on the distance to the Moon. When the Moon is at its farthest from Earth, it does not completely cover the solar
disc, leaving a ring of sunlight visible. This is an annular eclipse (Latin annulus, ‘ring’). For thousands of kilometres to either side of the path of totality, the eclipse appears partial. In a calendar year, between four and seven eclipses (solar and lunar combined) can occur; at least two and at most five can be eclipses of the Sun. From any given location, there will be, on average, a partial eclipse every couple of years and a total solar eclipse once in 375 years.
The next total solar eclipse visible in southern Africa will be in 2030. During 2017, there are two eclipses of the Sun. The annular eclipse on February 26 can be seen from southern Africa, although from most locations the Sun will have set before the eclipse ends.
Music: Digital Stroll by Silent Partner
South Africa witnessed a partial eclipse of the Sun, late afternoon on 26 February 2017. From Cape Town, 52% of the Sun was covered as the Moon moved across its face, taking about two hours from beginning to end. This video, made from still images, shows the whole process, using snapshots.
Quoted from Sky Guide Africa South:
"A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon blocks sunlight that normally falls on Earth and can only occur at the time of New Moon. Because the plane of the Moon’s orbit is tilted slightly
to the ecliptic, in most months the Sun–Moon–Earth alignment is not exact and the Moon’s shadow misses the Earth. When the
alignment is correct, the Sun is eclipsed. When the observer is directly in the line Earth–Moon–Sun, the eclipse is either total
or annular, depending on the distance to the Moon. When the Moon is at its farthest from Earth, it does not completely cover the solar
disc, leaving a ring of sunlight visible. This is an annular eclipse (Latin annulus, ‘ring’). For thousands of kilometres to either side of the path of totality, the eclipse appears partial. In a calendar year, between four and seven eclipses (solar and lunar combined) can occur; at least two and at most five can be eclipses of the Sun. From any given location, there will be, on average, a partial eclipse every couple of years and a total solar eclipse once in 375 years.
The next total solar eclipse visible in southern Africa will be in 2030. During 2017, there are two eclipses of the Sun. The annular eclipse on February 26 can be seen from southern Africa, although from most locations the Sun will have set before the eclipse ends.
Music: Digital Stroll by Silent Partner
