When is the Annual Solar Eclipse and can it be seen in the UK?

The annual solar eclipse will be visible on Tuesday, February 17, but only from Antarctica and parts of Africa, with UK stargazers needing to wait until August for a similar event.

Extraordinary pictures of the ring of fire have been seen in recent years, with millions being able to see it in the Americas in 2023.

“There are between two and five solar eclipses each year, with a total eclipse taking place every 18 months or so,” the National Maritime Museum has said.

Here is what it all means.

Read more: Total lunar eclipse ‘Blood Moon’ spotted in skies above Britain

What is the ring of fire eclipse?

The “ring of fire” has been dubbed as such because the moon covers nearly all of the sun’s surface, although a thin ring of light can be seen around it.

This means that skies will not be in total darkness, although there will be a distinct dimming where it is visible in Antarctica and parts of South Africa for two minutes and 20 seconds.

What’s known as the Annual Solar Eclipse will be seen in 2027 on February 6 in Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Togo, and Uruguay.

When is the next eclipse in the UK?

British stargazers will have to wait until August 12 for an eclipse, which is a partial one - although the National Maritime Museum says it will see 90 per cent of the sun obscured, and almost as dark as it can be without being a full eclipse.

A full eclipse, when the sun is totally covered, only happens in one place every 400 years and will not be seen in the UK until 2090.

While the August 12 eclipse will be partial in the UK, it will be a total eclipse in Greenland, Iceland, Portugal, Russia, and Spain.

There will be another eclipse on 2 August 2027, which will see 45 per cent of the sun covered in the UK.