Total eclipse — brushing Korea (2035)
The path crosses North Korea and the Kanto region — the century's closest totality to Seoul, which sees a deep partial.
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The moment of Total eclipse — brushing Korea (2035): https://nowsky.org/e/solar-eclipse-2035 — opens at the right place and time, replayable, no login.
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The story
On 2 September 2035 the path of totality crosses northern China, passes near Pyongyang and runs through Japan's Kanto region — the closest a total eclipse comes to the Korean peninsula this century. Seoul misses the path narrowly but sees a deep partial eclipse of more than 90 percent; to see totality on the peninsula means going north.
Pyongyang lies near the centre line with about 2 minutes 30 seconds of totality forecast, and the east-coast cities of Wonsan and Hamhung are also inside the path. The track leaves the coast off Wonsan and continues to the Kanto plain north of Tokyo — for central Tokyo the first totality since 1887, 148 years earlier.
Seoul gets a deep partial eclipse with more than 90 percent of the Sun covered — the daylight dims noticeably, but the corona does not appear. The observer's adage that 95 percent and 100 percent are entirely different phenomena will ring true that day: the darkness of totality, the corona and the sunset glow around the horizon are seen only inside the path.
Seoul's next total eclipse does not come until 2095, so this is effectively the last chance for this generation in Korean skies. The sky view replay previews that morning, and switching the location among Pyongyang, Tokyo and Seoul compares totality with the partial phases.
Why it matters
Total eclipses are rare on the Korean peninsula. The last in what is now South Korea was 19 August 1887 and the next is 27 November 2095. September 2035, with the path over Pyongyang, is the only chance in the middle of that two-hundred-year gap.
The eclipse belongs to Saros 145, following the 1999 crossing of Europe and the 2017 American eclipse. Each member of the series shifts a third of the way around the Earth westward every 18 years and 11 days, and in 2035 it is East Asia's turn; in 2053 the same series crosses Spain and North Africa.
2035 is predicted to fall near solar minimum, so an equatorially stretched corona is expected. As a morning eclipse the Sun is fairly low, and the 360-degree sunset glow around the horizon should be prominent from the Kanto plain.
How to watch
Choose the September 2035 eclipse in the sky view's event list to replay totality over Pyongyang at about 9:50 am local time on 2 September — the black Sun and corona in the south-east. Set the location to Seoul for the 90 percent partial at the same time, or Tokyo for Kanto's totality after 10 am.
The orbit view's event replay shows the Moon's shadow cone running from northern China across the northern peninsula to Japan; with the path only about 100 km wide, the split between total and partial within a single city can be seen.
Placed side by side in the sky view, the two previous eclipses of Saros 145 — Europe in 1999 and America in 2017 — show how the corona's orientation and the Sun's altitude differed.
See this for yourself — open that sky at that moment · replay the moment in the orbit view
Background
The path begins in China's Xinjiang, crosses Inner Mongolia north of Beijing and Liaoning, passes Pyongyang and Wonsan in North Korea, crosses the East Sea and runs through Japan's Niigata, Gunma, Saitama and northern Chiba. Northern central Tokyo and Yokohama lie at the edge of the path, split by location.
Observing in North Korea depends on access. Korean observers who want totality are likelier to go to China's Liaoning province (around Dandong and Shenyang) or Japan's Kanto, and the crowds north of Tokyo are expected to rival Europe in 1999 and America in 2017.
Seoul's total eclipse of 27 November 2095 comes late in the afternoon with the Sun low. Before then the annular eclipse of 25 October 2041 (near the south coast) is expected to be partially visible from the peninsula.
FAQ
Is totality visible from Seoul?
No. Seoul is outside the path and sees a deep partial eclipse of over 90 percent; totality runs through Pyongyang, Wonsan and Japan's Kanto.
How long is totality?
About 2 minutes 30 seconds near the centre line around Pyongyang.
When is Seoul's next total eclipse?
27 November 2095; the last was 19 August 1887.
Where should Korean observers go?
The accessible parts of the path are China's Liaoning province and Japan's Kanto; north of Tokyo is the likely choice.
Related
- The Great American Eclipse (2017)
- Total eclipse — across Europe (1999)
- Annular eclipse — Wellington (2035)
- The Sun — object index
- The Moon — object index
Times and figures are approximate — verify with official sources when planning travel. Simulation uses J2000 mean elements.