Chase an eclipse

The Eclipses tab works out what an eclipse looks like from your place, not just where it happens on Earth. Solar eclipses are computed from NASA's Besselian elements by Fred Espenak; lunar eclipses use NASA's catalogue contact times together with Skyfold's own Moon position.

Open File → Templates… and choose Total eclipse in Spain, 12 August 2026 to follow along.

The list

On the left you see every eclipse from 2020 to 2040. With Only eclipses visible from this place switched on, the list keeps only those where part of the eclipse happens while the Sun (or Moon) is above your horizon. Each entry says what you would see, for example 2026-08-12: solar eclipse, here total. Skyfold selects the next eclipse after the date in the side panel.

A solar eclipse in detail

Select an entry to see the local circumstances:

• The first sentence gives the type you see — partial, annular or total — with the magnitude (the fraction of the Sun's diameter covered; above 1 means total) and the obscuration (the fraction of the Sun's area covered).
• For total and annular eclipses, a large line states how long totality or annularity lasts at your spot. In Burgos the 2026 totality lasts 1 min 44 s.
• The table lists the contact times: Eclipse begins (C1), Totality begins (C2), Maximum, Totality ends (C3) and Eclipse ends (C4), each with the Sun's altitude. A note below the horizon tells you when the Sun has already set — in Burgos the eclipse ends after sunset, so the partial phase is cut short.
• The drawing shows the Moon's disc over the Sun at maximum, with north up and east left as you see it in the sky.

Contact times agree with NASA's published city tables to within about a minute. Near the edge of the path of totality a few hundred metres decide between total and partial, so check your exact coordinates.

Safety: look at the partly eclipsed Sun only through certified eclipse glasses (ISO 12312-2). Only during totality is it safe to look without them.

A lunar eclipse

Lunar eclipses are visible from the whole night side of the Earth. The detail view lists Penumbral eclipse begins, Partial eclipse begins, Total eclipse begins, Greatest eclipse and the matching end times, each with the Moon's altitude. Contacts while the Moon is below your horizon are marked, so you see at a glance which part you can watch.

Plan and export

Press Add to plan to put the whole eclipse (from first to last contact) into your observation plan, then export it from the Night planner as a calendar. Export → Eclipses as CSV writes all eclipses 2020–2040 for your place with type, magnitude, obscuration and local times.

To compare places — say, inside and outside the path — save both with Save this place and switch with Quick place.

Next: watch the ISS fly over.