What Can You See during an Annular Solar Eclipse?

  • ~90 minutes before annularity
    Partial eclipse begins
    First contact at the June 2020 annular solar eclipse, as seen from Sirsa, Haryana, India—screenshot from animation.

    ©timeanddate

    The moment the edge of the Moon appears to touch the edge of the Sun is called first contact. Eclipse glasses MUST ALWAYS be used for looking at the Sun—at no point during an annular eclipse does the Moon completely cover the Sun.


    The timings and images shown on this page are general approximations—no two eclipses are the same.

    Use our search tool to see a timeline for a particular town or city: select a solar eclipse, and choose “Detailed view” beneath the animation.

  • ~60 minutes before annularity
    Obscuration at 25%
    The first partial stage of June 2020 annular solar eclipse, as seen from Sirsa, Haryana, India.

    ©timeanddate/Neelam & Ajay Talwar

    The eclipse progresses: one-quarter of the area of the Sun’s disk is now covered by the Moon.

  • ~50 minutes before annularity
    Temperature changes
    An image of a thermometer

    ©iStockphoto.com/narith_2527

    As the Moon continues to cover up the Sun, the amount of solar energy reaching the ground decreases, causing a drop in air temperature.

  • ~45 minutes before annularity
    Sharp & blurry shadows

    Shadow edges that are aligned with the Sun’s narrowing crescent start to become sharper; edges that lie at right angles to the Sun’s crescent shape remain more blurry.

  • ~30 minutes before annularity
    Sky darkens
    Photo comparison of how sky colour change during total solar eclipse in Exmouth, Australia

    ©timeanddate

    With around two-thirds of the Sun’s disk now covered by the Moon, the sky starts to become noticeably darker.

  • ~20 minutes before annularity
    Temperature, humidity & wind
    An anemometer measuring wind speed

    ©iStockphoto.com/Moorefam

    Conditions on the ground and in the atmosphere continue to change as the amount of solar energy decreases—the Moon’s shadow can cause small changes in wind strength and direction.

  • ~15 minutes before annularity
    Light level & colors
    Photo comparison of how light level and colour change during total solar eclipse in Exmouth, Australia

    ©timeanddate

    The surroundings start to darken, while colors begin to turn grayish; the Moon now eclipses more than three-quarters of the Sun’s disk.

  • ~10 minutes before annularity
    Nature reacts
    Bird settling on a branch during an eclipse.

    ©iStockphoto.com/sieprawski

    Night comes early: the behavior of animals and plants starts to be affected by falling levels of light.

  • ~5 seconds before annularity
    Baily’s beads
    Baily’s beads, before annularity at the June 2020 annular solar eclipse.

    ©timeanddate/Neelam & Ajay Talwar

    Just before annularity, beads of sunlight stream through valleys along the edge of the Moon.

  • Annularity
    Annularity begins
    Screenshot from the timeanddate Night Sky Map showing the start of annularity (June 2020 annular solar eclipse over Sirsa in India)

    ©timeanddate

    The moment the Sun forms a ring around the Moon is called second contact. The thin circle of sunlight that remains is still dangerous to the naked eye—eclipse glasses should NOT be removed during an annular eclipse.

  • Annularity
    Ring of fire
    An image of the December 2019 annular solar eclipse, as seen from Malaysia

    ©iStockphoto.com/hashim mahrin

    The Sun shines as a dazzling annulus (from the Latin word for a ring) around the dark silhouette of the Moon.

  • Annularity
    Eclipse at maximum
    Screenshot from a timeanddate animation showing the maximum point of an annular eclipse (Engkilili, Malaysia, December 2019)

    ©timeanddate

    The deepest point of the eclipse, when the Sun is at its most hidden behind the Moon. This is roughly the halfway point: the features of the eclipse now repeat in reverse order.

  • Annularity
    Annularity ends

    The moment the edge of the Moon exposes the Sun is called third contact. The eclipse switches from being annular back to partial.

  • As annularity ends
    Baily’s beads
    Baily’s beads, after annularity at the June 2020 annular solar eclipse.

    ©timeanddate/Neelam & Ajay Talwar

    A new set of Baily’s beads appears along the edge of the Moon, signaling the start of the second partial phase of the eclipse.

  • ~10 minutes after annularity
    Nature returns to normal
    Photo of pigeons searching for food on the pavement

    ©Unsplash.com/Bruno_Guerrero

    Night turns to day once again: animals and plants are going back to their usual patterns of behavior.

  • ~15 minutes after annularity
    Light levels & temperature

    The conditions of the sky and surroundings are returning to normal; temperature changes are delayed slightly by an effect called thermal lag.

  • ~60 minutes after annularity
    Obscuration at 25%

    With around half an hour to go until the eclipse reaches its end, one-quarter of the Sun’s disk remains covered by the Moon.

  • ~90 minutes after annularity
    Partial eclipse ends
    Fourth contact at the June 2020 annular solar eclipse, as seen from Sirsa, Haryana, India—screenshot from animation.

    ©timeanddate

    The moment the edge of the Moon leaves the edge of the Sun is called fourth contact. Although the eclipse has finished at this location, the Moon’s shadow continues to travel across the globe from west to east.