India, Feb. 17 -- The first solar eclipse of 2026 will occur on Tuesday, February 17. The annual celestial event, or the Surya Grahan, will be marked by the moon covering the sun's centre, leaving a rim of light around it.

The solar eclipse's path of annularity will reportedly cut across East Antarctica.

An annual eclipse occurs when the Moon stands at the farthest point from the Earth and since it is smaller is size as compared to the Sun, it fails to cover it completely, hence leaving a rim of light around it, which is referred to as the 'ring of fire'.

The eclipse will last for about 2 minutes and 20 seconds at around 07:01 UTC, which translates to 12:31 pm IST.

Few will witness that moment, but observers in the rest of Antarctica ...