Moon lovers and skywatchers across South Africa will have the opportunity to witness a partial solar eclipse on Tuesday, 17 February 2026, with the phenomenon visible from large parts of the country, reports Cape {town} Etc.
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According to the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), the eclipse will occur when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, partially obscuring the sun from view.
During a partial solar eclipse, the moon, sun and Earth do not align in a perfectly straight line, meaning only the outer part of the moon’s shadow (known as the penumbra) is cast onto Earth.
‘This appears as though the moon has taken a “bite” out of the sun in the afternoon sky,’ reported SANSA.
While the full eclipse (often referred to as the ‘ring of fire’) will only be visible from remote parts of Antarctica, South African observers will be able to see the moon obscure a small portion of the sun during the afternoon.
In the Western Cape, around 5% solar coverage is expected at maximum eclipse.
The partial eclipse will begin at 2:01pm SAST, reach its maximum at 2:23pm SAST, and conclude at 3:24pm SAST, lasting a total of one hour and 23 minutes.
SANSA will livestream the event from its facility in Hermanus using its newly acquired solar telescope. The agency said the telescope will serve as a redundancy instrument for observing the sun at the SANSA Space Weather Centre, and that the eclipse provides an opportunity to demonstrate its capabilities while offering the public a real-time view of the event.
To livestream the eclipse, visit SANSA’s YouTube page here.
As anticipation builds, safety remains a critical concern. SANSA has urged the public not to look directly at the sun without proper protection.
‘Viewers are advised to protect their eyes and never look directly at the sun but instead use eclipse glasses or special solar filters,’ said SANSA.
According to Time and date, ordinary sunglasses are not safe for viewing a solar eclipse. Proper eye protection, such as certified eclipse glasses or specialist solar filters, is required.
Materials that should never be used to view a solar eclipse, as per NASA:
- Colour film
- Medical X-ray film
- Smoked glass
- Floppy disks
- Sunglasses of any kind
Direct exposure to the sun, even for a few seconds, can burn the retina and cause permanent eye damage or blindness.
The publication added that projection methods (such as a pinhole or box projector) offer a safe alternative, but viewers should never look through a telescope’s eyepiece or finder scope while projecting the sun’s image.
Eclipse glasses must be worn at all times during a partial eclipse, and during any phase when the sun’s disk is visible. Solar filters must be specifically designed for eclipse viewing and should never be used with telescopes or binoculars unless they are specialist filters made for those devices.
For those who miss the event, be sure to catch the next partial lunar eclipse that will be visible in Cape Town on 28 August 2026.
Article shared by Cape Town Etc
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