The final eclipse of 2025 will unfold this weekend, but despite some of the hype online, most of the world will miss the event.
On Sept. 21, a partial solar eclipse will take place over a small corner of the globe. Partial eclipses are not nearly as dramatic as total eclipses, when the moon completely blocks the sun for several minutes and the sky briefly turns dark. In this case, daylight will dim slightly, but the sun will never fully disappear behind the moon.
The moon will cover up to 85 percent of the sun at the height of the event, but it will only be visible from New Zealand, the east coast of Australia, some Pacific islands and part of Antarctica.
Only 0.20 of the entire population of the globe live in the area expecting the eclipse, according to TimeandDate.com.
Anyone in the viewing area should remember that even during an eclipse, the sun is far too bright to look at with the naked eye.
A solar filter or eclipse glasses are required to view the event safely. Without them, looking at the sun can cause permanent eye damage.
For skywatchers in North America, the next chance to see an eclipse will arrive on Aug. 12, 2026. A partial eclipse will stretch across Canada, as well as most of Alaska and the midwestern and northeastern United States. The main event, however, will be across Spain, Iceland and Greenland, where the moon will completely blot out the sun during a total eclipse.
Until then, the Sept. 21 event will quietly close the book on 2025’s eclipse season.