On September 21, 2025, there will be a partial solar eclipse. The Moon will cover 80% of the Sun’s disk. However, you will not be able to observe it in Ukraine. You will have to travel to New Zealand.
Solar eclipse after lunar eclipse
On September 7, residents of most of the Earth, including Ukraine, watched with excitement as an amazing lunar eclipse took place. And on the 21st, there will be a partial solar eclipse. Such frequency may seem strange, but in fact, they always come in pairs or even trios.
The point is what causes these astronomical phenomena. A lunar eclipse always occurs during a full moon, when the Earth is between our satellite and the Sun. Solar eclipses occur during a new Moon, when the Moon is between us and the Sun.
Why is this not the case during every full moon or new moon phase? The reason is that the Moon’s orbit is tilted at an angle of 5.14° to the ecliptic, so in most cases during a full moon or new moon phase, it is above or below the straight line on which the Earth and Sun are located.
At the same time, the time it takes for the Moon to orbit the Earth does not coincide with the duration of the phase change cycle, which is why full and new phases occur at different points in its orbit. And sometimes they occur near the so-called ascending and descending nodes of the orbit – points where it intersects with the ecliptic, passing from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere, or from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere.
It is at such moments that solar and lunar eclipses occur. At the same time, during the two weeks between the full moon and the new moon, the situation does not change significantly. Sometimes a solar eclipse precedes a lunar eclipse, vice versa, but they always occur in pairs with a two-week interval.
Where can the eclipse be observed?
It will begin on September 21 at 5:29 p.m. GMT. It will be very deep – at its maximum phase, the Moon will cover 80% of the Sun’s surface. It is also interesting because it will occur very close to the equinox, which will take place on September 22.
Moreover, this eclipse will not be visible from Ukraine or Europe at all. Its path will pass through the southern part of the Pacific Ocean and Antarctica. In fact, at the moment it begins, it will already be 8:29 p.m. in Kyiv, and the Sun will set at 6:58 p.m. that day.
So, to see the partial solar eclipse in September 2025, you will need to travel to New Zealand – the only large piece of land from which this astronomical phenomenon will be visible. Here, it will take place at dawn on the following day, September 22. Depending on the observation location, the Moon will cover between 61 and 73% of the solar disk.
For example, in the country’s capital, Wellington, the eclipse will begin at 6:10 a.m. local time, reach a maximum of 66% coverage at 7:04 a.m., and end at 8:18 a.m.
If you want to see the maximum possible coverage on the morning of September 22, you should head to the Macquarie Islands, which are located between New Zealand and Antarctica but belong to Australia. Here, the Moon will cover 78% of the solar disk.
Although in fact, in one place belonging to Ukraine, the solar eclipse will still be visible on September 21. We are talking about the Antarctic Vernadsky Research Base. Here it will be possible to observe its end, when it will be the second half of the day local time.
As for Ukraine, the next solar eclipse will be visible on August 12, 2026. However, it will only be visible in the far west of the country just before sunset, with the Moon covering only a very small part of the Sun’s disk.
