The Total Solar Eclipse of 2 August 2027

Totality first reaches land at about 08:44 UTC on the Atlantic coasts of northern Morocco and Andalusia, which is 08:44 by the clock in Tangier and 10:44 in Spain. From there the shadow sweeps across the Strait of Gibraltar, along North Africa, over the Nile Valley and across the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia, then crosses Yemen and the tip of Somalia before leaving the Earth over the Indian Ocean. The longest totality on land, a little over six minutes, falls in Egypt between Sohag and Luxor.

The path of totality

Inside the dark band the Moon covers the Sun completely. Everywhere outside it, including Madrid, Lisbon, Cairo and Tunis, sees only a partial eclipse. Durations are for the city shown.

Follow the shadow from Spain to Somalia

Drag the slider or press play to send the Moon’s shadow along its track. Just after sunrise over the Atlantic, the shadow skims the ground at several kilometres a second. By the time it reaches Spain it has slowed to about 1.4 km a second, and over Egypt, with the Sun almost overhead, to under 0.7 km a second. The slower the shadow moves, the longer totality lasts.

How totality grows from west to east

The bars follow the path in the order the shadow arrives. Along the centre line, totality grows from under five minutes at the Strait of Gibraltar to 6m 27s over the Nile, then shortens over Arabia. Cities away from the centre line, such as Djerba, fall below that trend.

Totality by country

Every city compared

Two things decide how long totality lasts where you stand. The first is your distance from the centre line. Totality is longest along the middle of the band and shrinks quickly towards its edges, so a city near the edge can have a minute or two less than one on the centre line only a short drive away.

Position along the path matters too. The Moon’s shadow races fastest over the ground where the Sun is low, at the western end of the path, and slows down where the Sun is high in the sky, which on 2 August 2027 happens over Egypt in the early afternoon. As a result, the best spots in southern Spain get four to almost five minutes, while the Nile Valley gets more than six. Within each country below, cities are sorted from the longest totality to the shortest.

What you will see

For the first hour or so the Moon slowly covers the Sun, and the light gradually turns flat and strange. You need eclipse glasses for this whole partial phase. In the last minutes before totality the temperature drops, shadows sharpen, and bands of light and shade may ripple across the ground.

At second contact the last beads of sunlight vanish and totality begins. Only now is it safe to take your glasses off and look directly at the Sun. The corona spreads out around the black disc of the Moon, a sunset glow runs all the way round the horizon, and the brightest planets and stars come out. When the first bright point of sunlight returns, glasses go back on immediately.

Our minute-by-minute account of what happens during totality uses the real timings for Luxor.

Why 2027 is called the eclipse of the century

Totality on 2 August 2027 lasts up to 6 min 27 s on land. No total eclipse between 1991 and 2114 gives more time on land that ordinary travellers can reach. The 2009 eclipse in the same family lasted a little longer at greatest eclipse, but its longest totality fell over the open Pacific.

Three things line up to make it long. The Moon is close to Earth, so it looks large and covers the Sun with room to spare. Earth is near its farthest point from the Sun in early July, so the Sun looks small. And the shadow passes almost through the middle of the Earth’s disc, where the Sun is high and the ground, carried east by the Earth’s rotation, moves with the shadow and slows it relative to the surface.

Weather and sky conditions

August is one of the clearest months of the year along almost the whole path. According to climatologist Jay Anderson, cloud is almost unknown over the Egyptian and Libyan deserts in summer, and Siwa and Bahariya oases have almost no prospect of cloud at all. At Cádiz the Sun was visible on about 88% of August days, while coastal mist on summer mornings is the main risk around Tangier, Asilah and Melilla.

Dust matters more than cloud in places. Haze blown from the Sahara can soften the corona over inland Algeria and the Saudi coast south of Jeddah, while Sfax, Tangier and the Spanish coast usually have cleaner air.

Heat and travel in August

Totality over Egypt and Saudi Arabia comes in the early afternoon of a midsummer day. Luxor’s average high on 2 August is about 42°C (108°F), and afternoon readings close to 50°C (122°F) are possible in the desert. Plan shade, water and a place to rest after the eclipse, and keep children and older travellers out of the midday sun before totality.

Southern Spain is in peak holiday season, and the ferries across the Strait of Gibraltar carry the yearly summer migration between Europe and Morocco at the same time. Expect full ferries, busy roads and prices well above normal on the coast.

Eye safety

Look at the partial phases only through certified eclipse glasses or a solar viewer meeting the ISO 12312-2 standard. Sunglasses, however dark, do not protect the eyes. Cameras, binoculars and telescopes need a proper solar filter on the front. Our eye safety guide explains how to check glasses and when it is safe to take them off.

Photographing the eclipse

Practise at home before August. For the partial phases, a solar filter on the lens is essential. During totality, remove it and bracket your exposures, from fast shots for the inner corona and the diamond ring to longer ones for the outer streamers. Phones on a tripod handle the darkening landscape well, and a wide shot of people under the dark sky often becomes the photo you remember. Leave at least half of totality to watch with your own eyes.

Why being inside the path matters

A 99% partial eclipse is still a bright day; the remaining sliver of Sun is far too bright for the corona to appear. So the difference between places just outside the path and cities just inside it is enormous, even when they are only a short drive apart.

Coverage and times for more than 100 cities outside the path, from London and Paris to Riyadh and Mumbai, are in our guide to the partial eclipse of 2 August 2027.

Planning ahead

Accommodation inside the path, particularly in Luxor and along the Strait of Gibraltar, is already in demand. Book refundable rooms early, keep a car or transfer plan that lets you move away from cloud on the morning itself, and buy certified eclipse glasses before July 2027, when demand and fakes both peak.