Star & Planet FinderEclipses›Solar eclipses›December 15, 2039
The Moon covers the Sun completely for those inside a narrow path, and day turns to twilight for a few minutes. Around the path, a much wider part of the world sees a partial eclipse.
Total along a path across the Pacific and Antarctica; partial over Antarctica.
Drawing the eclipse…
Drawing the eclipse…
Times are in your own time zone. Drag the globe to turn it; the slider moves the eclipse.
Times are UTC. A lunar eclipse happens at the same instant everywhere; a solar eclipse reaches each place at its own time, given below.
None of the cities this site covers lies inside the path, where the totality is seen. Those below see a partial eclipse.
1 of the cities this site covers see something of this eclipse; these are all of them. Times are local to each city.
| City | Sees | From | Maximum | Until | Local date | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Town · South Africa | 7% covered | 19:30 | 19:53 | 19:53 sunset | Thu, Dec 15 | On the horizon |
Looking at the Sun without protection damages the eye, eclipsed or not. Use eclipse glasses or a solar filter made for the purpose (ISO 12312-2) whenever any part of the Sun is showing; sunglasses are not enough. Inside the path, the glasses come off only while the Sun is completely covered, and go back on at the first flash of sunlight.
With the app
This page tells you when to look. The app tells you again when it matters, and shows you where in your own sky.
Total along a path across the Pacific and Antarctica; partial over Antarctica.
The Moon’s shadow first touches the Earth at 14:17 UTC and leaves it at 18:27 UTC. The eclipse is at its greatest at 16:22 UTC, over Antarctica. When you see it depends on where you are: each city’s page gives its own times.
At most 1 min 53 s, on the middle of the path over Antarctica, where the path is about 382 km wide. It is shorter towards the edges of the path and towards its two ends.
Only through eclipse glasses or a solar filter made for the purpose, at every moment that any of the Sun is showing. The one exception is totality itself, inside the path, when the Sun is completely covered.