Why penguins in Antarctica might be stargazing this weekend

Penguins and other inhabitants of Antarctica might well be looking up at the sky this weekend.

That's because there's a partial solar eclipse taking place - meaning a big portion of the Sun will be blocked out by the Moon.

The rare event will be visible in only a handful of places in the South Pacific including parts of New Zealand and eastern Australia.

Stargazers in the UK will need to wait a little longer for their next chance of spotting a partial solar eclipse, which is due to take place in August 2026.

What are the different types of solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse is when the Moon passes in front of the Sun, blocking its light.

It's a special cosmic event where the Sun, Moon and Earth all have to line up to for it to happen.

Depending on how they line up, there's different types of eclipses that are visible from the Earth.

A partial solar eclipse - which will happen this weekend in the South Pacific - is when the Moon only covers part of the Sun - due to the fact that the Sun, Moon, and Earth are not perfectly lined up.

A total solar eclipse is when the Sun is completely blocked by the Moon, causing the sky to go dark as there isn't enough light from the Sun.

There's also something called an annular solar eclipse, where the Moon is in front of the Sun, but is too far away from Earth to completely block it.

In an annular eclipse, it looks like there's a dramatic ring of fire around the Moon - but this is just the part of the Sun that hasn't been covered up.

And finally, there's also a hybrid solar eclipse - which are extremely rare and take place when the eclipse is annular from some locations, but total from others.

Where will the partial solar eclipse be visible?

The partial solar eclipse will take place on 21 September 2025.

It's due to be visible in parts of Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and the Pacific Islands - including Tonga, Fiji and the Cook Islands.

It will first be experienced by people living on the island country of Tuvalu, before moving across the South Pacific and ending over Antarctica.

Those living further south will see more of the Sun blocked out - with the Moon expected to cover up to around 85% of the Sun in certain parts of Earth's southernmost continent.

The rare event comes just weeks after some people living in the same part of the world witnessed the Blood Moon - or total lunar eclipse - which made the moon appear orangey-red in colour.