New Jersey to see a sliver of sun blotted out, then wait decades for another

The sun will dim over New Jersey on Aug. 12, 2026. But only a little.

A total solar eclipse will sweep across Greenland, Iceland, and Spain that afternoon. New Jersey is not on that path. The state will see a partial eclipse, the moon taking a small, ragged bite from the sun’s face. At its peak, just 9.6% of the sun will be covered. In Atlantic City, less than 7%.

The show starts at 1:05 p.m. in the southern part of the state, near Duttonville. By 2:39 p.m., near Kings Woods, it ends. In between, the sky will not darken. The temperature will not drop. Birds will not fall silent. Most people will not notice anything at all unless they wear proper eye protection and look directly at the sun.

That is the hard truth of it.

Paterson gets the best view in the state, if you can call it that: 9.62% coverage. Jersey City follows at 9.43%. Newark at 9.33%. Elizabeth at 9.17%. Perth Amboy at 8.86%. Trenton, the capital, gets 7.87%. Atlantic City, the tourist trap, gets the worst: 6.97%.

The eclipse begins at 1:07 p.m. in Newark and peaks at 1:53 p.m. By 2:38 p.m., it is done. Ninety-one minutes of a faint shadow that only a careful observer would recognize.

You still need the glasses. The same ones you wore for the 2017 and 2024 eclipses. Never look directly at the sun without them. Not even for a second. Not even when the moon covers most of the disk, here, the moon will never cover most of the disk.

The real event is elsewhere. In Spain, the sun will vanish completely for nearly two minutes. In Iceland, the same. In Russia, the same. Thousands will travel to see a black hole in the daytime sky. New Jersey is not that place. It has not been that place since 2017, when the state saw a partial eclipse of about 70% coverage. And it will not be that place for a very long time.

Consider the next total solar eclipse visible from New Jersey. It happens on May 1, 2079. That is 52 years and 323 days from now. A child born on the day of the 2026 partial eclipse will be 52 years old when the next total eclipse occurs. Their parents will likely be dead. Their grandparents certainly will be.

Between now and 2079, New Jersey will see other eclipses. None of them total. A partial lunar eclipse on Aug. 28, 2026, just 16 days after the solar event. A penumbral lunar eclipse on Feb. 20, 2027. Another penumbral on Aug. 17, 2027. A partial lunar on Jan. 12, 2028. A partial solar eclipse on Jan. 26, 2028, though that one is annular elsewhere. A total lunar eclipse on June 26, 2029. Another total lunar eclipse on Dec. 20, 2029.

Lunar eclipses are easy. You can watch them with your bare eyes. They turn the moon red. They happen every few years. They are not the same. A total lunar eclipse is a fine thing, but it is not a total solar eclipse. The difference is between watching a movie of a fire and standing in the flames.

For a total solar eclipse in New Jersey, you wait. The next one after 2079 comes sometime after that. The data does not say when. It only says the next annular eclipse, where a ring of sun remains around the moon, arrives on April 12, 2154. That is 127 years and 304 days from the 2026 partial. No one reading this today will see it.

So on Aug. 12, 2026, do this: Get the glasses. Go outside at 1:53 p.m. Look up. See a tiny black notch on the lower edge of the sun. Feel the disappointment. Then wait 53 years.

Or travel to Spain for a better view. The choice is yours.