Total eclipse over East Asia (2035)
The path of totality runs through Beijing and Pyongyang to central Japan. It crosses the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, and Seoul sees a deep partial eclipse with about 97% of the Sun covered.
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The story
On 2 September 2035, the path of a total solar eclipse will cross East Asia. The Moon's shadow passes over the Beijing area in northern China, through Pyongyang and Wonsan in North Korea, and then across the Sea of Japan (East Sea) to central Japan near Toyama, Nagano and Utsunomiya. Two capital cities, Beijing and Pyongyang, both lie inside the path.
In Pyongyang the Sun will be completely covered for about 1 minute 47 seconds, at around 00:44 UTC (9:44 am local time). On the east coast at Wonsan, totality lasts a little longer, about 2 minutes 7 seconds. The longest totality happens over the Pacific Ocean east of Japan, where it is calculated to last about 2 minutes 54 seconds.
Seoul lies south of the path, so it does not see totality. Instead, at around 00:46 UTC (9:46 am local time), about 97% of the Sun will be covered in a deep partial eclipse. Daylight will dim noticeably, but the corona, the faint glow around the Sun, will not be visible. This is why eclipse chasers often say that 97% and 100% are completely different experiences.
Tokyo is also just south of the path and sees a partial eclipse with about 99.5% of the Sun covered. In the sky view, switching the location between Pyongyang, Seoul and Tokyo and replaying that morning shows how totality and a partial eclipse differ at the same moment.
Viewing guide — where, when, how
In the sky view, choose the September 2035 eclipse from the event list and set the location to Pyongyang. The darkened Sun and the corona around it at about 00:44 UTC (9:44 am local time) on 2 September are shown. Moving the location to Seoul shows a partial eclipse of about 97% at a similar time, and moving it to Tokyo shows a partial eclipse of about 99.5% at around 01:09 UTC (10:09 am local time).
The event playback in the orbit view shows the Moon's shadow moving from northern China across the northern Korean Peninsula to central Japan. Because the band is narrow, near its edges a difference of a few tens of kilometres decides whether a place sees totality or only a partial eclipse.
Replaying the 1999 European eclipse and the 2017 American eclipse from the same Saros 145 side by side in the sky view shows how the Sun's height and the time of day changed as the path moved. The 1999 eclipse happened around midday in Europe, the 2017 eclipse from morning to afternoon across the United States, and the 2035 eclipse in the East Asian morning.
See this for yourself — open that sky at that moment · replay the moment in the orbit view
Why this eclipse is special
For the whole Earth, a total solar eclipse happens about once every year or two, but seeing one from a single city is very rare. This is because the band covered by the shadow is only about 100 km wide. At its widest, this eclipse's path is about 116 km across. On the Korean Peninsula, the path of a total eclipse last crossed what is now North Korea on 19 August 1887.
This eclipse belongs to an eclipse family called Saros 145. Eclipses in the same family repeat about every 18 years and 11 days. Each time, the Earth has turned about eight more hours, so the path shifts roughly a third of the way around the globe to the west. The European eclipse of 11 August 1999 and the American eclipse of 21 August 2017 belong to this family, and the next one, on 12 September 2053, crosses the southern tip of Spain and North Africa.
Another feature of this eclipse is that two capital cities fall inside the path at once. In Beijing, totality lasts about 1 minute 35 seconds, at around 00:33 UTC (8:33 am local time). Because the path crosses heavily populated areas, a very large number of people will see either totality or a deep partial eclipse.
Background and earlier eclipses
According to the calculations summarised on Wikipedia, the path crosses Baotou, Datong, Beijing, Tangshan and Qinhuangdao in China, and Pyongyang, Kaechon and Wonsan in North Korea. Only the far northern tip of South Korea is calculated to fall inside the path. In Japan, the area around Toyama, Nagano and Utsunomiya is inside the path, while Tokyo lies to the south.
Whether people can watch from North Korea depends on travel conditions at the time. For most observers, the Beijing area or central Japan are therefore likely to be more practical choices. Early September can bring changeable weather in both regions, so the chance of clear skies can only be given as a probability.
FAQ
Will Seoul see totality?
No. Seoul lies south of the path and sees a partial eclipse with about 97% covered. Totality is visible from Pyongyang and Wonsan, Beijing, and central Japan.
How long does totality last?
About 1 minute 47 seconds in Pyongyang, 2 minutes 7 seconds in Wonsan and 1 minute 35 seconds in Beijing. The longest, about 2 minutes 54 seconds, is over the Pacific.
What about Tokyo?
Tokyo is just south of the path and sees about 99.5% covered. To see totality, people need to go towards Toyama, Nagano or Utsunomiya.
Has the Korean Peninsula had a total eclipse before?
Yes. The path of the total eclipse of 19 August 1887 crossed what is now North Korea.
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.