The Last Total Solar Eclipse of 2021 Is About To Happen & Here's The Best Way To Watch
We won't see another eclipse like this for years!
Saturday is going to be a great day for penguins.
The last total solar eclipse of 2021 is expected to happen on December 4, and this one will be super rare because very few people on Earth will actually see it with the naked eye.
That’s because the eclipse is projected to happen over the southernmost parts of the globe, and the best spot to see it will be the frigid continent of Antarctica.
The moon will totally cover the sun in the sky over Antarctica for almost 2 minutes on Saturday morning, according to NASA's calculations. Only the glowing outer edges of the sun will be visible to the naked eye.
The event will look like a partial solar eclipse for people watching from the southernmost parts of South Africa, Australia and islands in the South Atlantic, NASA says.
Chances are that more penguins than people will be able to watch the total eclipse in real time, although we sincerely hope that there are some human photographers around to capture the sight on camera.
A handful of lucky humans will be able to see it in person, thanks to a few Antarctic cruise expeditions that are specifically scheduled to follow the eclipse. The cruises are a little pricey (around $20,000 per person), but those who can afford it will be getting an experience that few on Earth will share.
You can watch the eclipse on the internet if you can't afford a polar solar eclipse cruise, and there's good reason to do it. We won't be getting another total solar eclipse until April of 2024, according to NASA.
NASA typically streams these events on YouTube, or you can tune into one of the Australian government's webcams at its research stations in Antarctica. A few of them offer some pretty good views of the landscape.
You'll be able to watch the 2024 total eclipse from Mexico, the central United States and eastern Canada, and NASA says it'll last for nearly four-and-a-half minutes.
So if you can't get to Antarctica for this one on Saturday, we recommend you mark your calendar and catch the next one in a few years.