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December 4, 2021 Total Solar Eclipse

You'll have to travel a long way to Antarctica to see the total phase of this total solar eclipse. Parts of southern Africa, including locations in South Africa and Namibia, will see a partial solar eclipse, if the weather permits.

Follow our live updates as the Moon's shadow crosses the icy continent.

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

What the Eclipse Looked Like Near the Maximum Point

The animation shows what the eclipse approximately looked like near the maximum point. The curvature of the Moon's path is due to the Earth's rotation.

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Where the Eclipse Was Seen

Try our new interactive eclipse maps. Zoom in and search for accurate eclipse times and visualizations for any location.


Path of the Eclipse Shadow

Regions that saw, at least, a partial eclipse: South in Australia, South in Africa, South in South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctica.

Expand for a list of selected cities where at least part of the total eclipse was visible
Expand for a list of selected cities where the partial eclipse was visible

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

Eclipse Shadow Path

Portion of Sun covered by the Moon (Eclipse obscuration)

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The dark areas symbolize night and twilight.

When the Eclipse Happened Worldwide — Timeline

The eclipse started at one location and ended at another. The times below are actual times (in UTC) when the eclipse occurred. This calculation uses a Delta T value of 69.3 seconds.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Washington DC*
First location to see the partial eclipse beginDec 4 at 05:29:19Dec 4 at 12:29:19 am
First location to see the full eclipse beginDec 4 at 07:00:11Dec 4 at 2:00:11 am
Maximum EclipseDec 4 at 07:33:29Dec 4 at 2:33:29 am
Last location to see the full eclipse endDec 4 at 08:06:32Dec 4 at 3:06:32 am
Last location to see the partial eclipse endDec 4 at 09:37:29Dec 4 at 4:37:29 am

* These local times do not refer to a specific location but indicate the beginning, peak, and end of the eclipse on a global scale, each line referring to a different location. This eclipse isn't visible in Washington DC.

Upcoming eclipses visible in Washington DC

Next Total Solar Eclipse will be on Apr 20, 2023

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

CountryTypeStartEndTotality Duration
Antarctica
Total Solar Eclipse
3:20 am 7:25 pm DDUT54m, 52s
Argentina
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:36 am ART5:02 am ART---
Australia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:03 pm 8:36 pm AEDT---
Botswana
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:51 am SAST8:25 am SAST---
Chile
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:42 am CLST5:03 am CLST---
Falkland Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:29 am FKST4:54 am FKST---
French Southern Territories
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:47 am TFT1:01 pm TFT---
Lesotho
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:07 am SAST8:28 am SAST---
Namibia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:40 am CAT8:40 am SAST---
New Zealand
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:01 pm NZDT9:54 pm NZDT---
Saint Helena
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:38 am GMT7:19 am GMT---
South Africa
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:40 am SAST9:42 am SAST---
South Georgia/Sandwich Is.
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:06 am GST5:55 am GST---

All times shown in this table are local time. (Note: more than one time zone is listed.) "Totality duration" gives the time between the start and finish of totality within the entire country (not at one location).

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing...Number of People*Fraction of World Population
Any part of the eclipse24,500,0000.31%
At least 10% partial6,220,0000.08%
At least 20% partial30,0000.0003%
At least 30% partial75000.00009%
At least 40% partial2670.000003%
At least 50% partial2670.000003%
At least 60% partial--
At least 70% partial--
At least 80% partial--
At least 90% partial--
Totality or annularity--

* The number of people refers to the resident population (as a round number) in areas where the eclipse is visible. timeanddate has calculated these numbers using raw population data provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. The raw data is based on population estimates from the year 2000 to 2020.

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

All eclipses 1900 — 2199

This is the second eclipse this season.

First eclipse this season: November 19, 2021 — Partial Lunar Eclipse