12 June 2029: a small partial eclipse over the Arctic

Around 04:00 UTC on 12 June 2029, the Moon covers a small part of the Sun for people around the Arctic. The eclipse is partial everywhere. Iceland and northern Canada see the most, about a quarter of the Sun, and most other northern cities 10 to 20%.

One eclipse, two dates

Because the eclipse happens in the middle of the night by Greenwich time, it falls on two calendar days. In Alaska, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, people see it on the evening of 11 June, with the Sun low in the north-west. Iceland and southern Scandinavia see it early on 12 June, with the Sun low in the north-east.

Near midsummer the Arctic Sun barely sets, so the eclipse is visible across the Arctic at an hour when Europe and North America are mostly dark. In Longyearbyen on Svalbard, where the Sun stays up all night from late April to late August, the eclipse peaks at 5:37 am with the Sun about 19 degrees high.

Why the Arctic sees so little

The centre of the Moon’s shadow passes about 1,900 km above the Arctic and never reaches the Earth. Only the edge of the shadow brushes the top of the planet, so the Moon clips the upper edge of the Sun instead of crossing its middle.

With only 10 to 25% of the Sun covered, daylight stays the same, and without eclipse glasses the Sun looks completely normal. Through glasses or a pinhole projector, the curved notch in its edge is clear.

Coverage and local times around the Arctic

Where to watch the June 2029 eclipse

• Iceland About 28% in Reykjavik, the largest share in Europe, but the Sun is barely above the north-eastern horizon at 3:33 am.
• Northern Canada About a quarter of the Sun in Yellowknife, late in the evening of 11 June.
• Svalbard and northern Norway 17 to 20%, with the midnight Sun high enough to clear the mountains.
• Alaska and the Yukon 12 to 18% in the evening of 11 June, with the Sun low in the north-west.
• Scotland, Denmark and northern Germany Only a few per cent of the Sun covered as it rises. London and Paris miss the eclipse entirely.

Three eclipses in 29 days

On 26 June 2029 the full Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow in a total lunar eclipse lasting about an hour and 40 minutes. Then, on 11 July, comes another partial solar eclipse, this time at the opposite end of the world, over southern Patagonia and Antarctica.

Eclipses come in clusters like this because the Moon’s orbit is tilted. Only around two short windows each year, called eclipse seasons, do the Sun, Moon and Earth line up closely enough. In June and July 2029 the line-up is close enough for three eclipses, but not for a central one.

Proper eclipse glasses or a pinhole projector are the only safe ways to watch, and sunglasses are not enough.