Eclipses in 2022

Partial Solar Eclipse

30 April and 25 October

The next partial solar eclipse will occur on 30 April 2022 when the Moon passes in front of the Sun, resulting in a partial eclipse that will be visible from South America and Antarctica. A partial solar eclipse happens when the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth, but only partially covers the disc of the Sun. This is because the Moon, Sun and Earth aren’t perfectly aligned, so only the outer part of the Moon’s shadow falls on Earth. This has the effect of making the Sun look like a glowing orange cookie with a bite gouged out of it.

Partial solar eclipses happen between two and five times a year, meaning that in 2022 sky watchers will get a second chance to observe an event on 25 October. This second partial solar eclipse will be visible over most of Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and Western Asia. Solar eclipses never come alone though, and both of these partial eclipses will be followed by lunar eclipses.

Total Lunar Eclipse

16 May and 8 November

In 2022 Earth will experience two total lunar eclipses. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon, Earth and the Sun align, but this time in such a way that the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon. As Earth’s shadow falls over the Moon, the lunar surface reddens, caused by the fact that light from the Sun has to pass through Earth’s atmosphere.

This results in photons of red light being scattered by atoms in the atmosphere, known as Rayleigh scattering.

The first lunar eclipse of 2022 falls on 16 May and will be a blood Moon, so-called because of the Moon’s red hue during the event. It will be visible over North America, South America, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia. The second total lunar eclipse of 2022 will happen on 8 November and will be visible over Australia, Asia, North America, parts of Europe and parts of South America.