Solar eclipse on the horizon, but will Pakistan miss out?

Sky watchers are in for a treat later this month as a partial solar eclipse is set to unfold overnight on 21-22 September, according to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).

The event will not be visible in the United States, but observers in Australia, Antarctica, and across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans will be able to witness it.

Pakistan, however, will miss out. The Climate Data Processing Centre of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said the eclipse will begin at 10:30pm (PST) on 21 September, peak at 12:42am, and end at 2:54am — though it will not be visible from anywhere in the country.

According to USA Today, Nasa explains that a partial solar eclipse happens when the Moon slides between the Sun and Earth without perfect alignment, leaving a glowing crescent of the Sun in view.

This will be the second big sky event this month — the first was a total lunar eclipse on September 7-8. And there’s more: the September equinox follows just a day later, on September 22, when day and night are nearly equal worldwide.

Looking ahead, Nasa says the next total solar eclipse visible in parts of North America will happen on August 12, 2026, crossing Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small corner of Portugal.

A partial eclipse on that date will be visible across North America, Europe, Africa, the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific Oceans. Plus, there’s an annular eclipse coming on February 17, 2026, visible in parts of Antarctica, with a partial eclipse across Africa, South America, and several oceans.

Nasa has one important reminder: never look directly at the Sun without proper eclipse glasses or filters. “Viewing any part of the bright Sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter… will instantly cause severe eye injury,” the agency warns.