After Tunisia the shadow crosses the Gulf of Sidra and reaches the coast of eastern Libya around Benghazi, where totality lasts more than six minutes in the late morning. Libya has been divided and unstable since 2011, and most governments advise against travel there.
6m 13slongest totality, in Benghazi
Short answer
Yes. The path of totality crosses the coast of eastern Libya around Benghazi, where totality lasts about 6m 13s by our calculation, and clips the Tripoli coast at its southern edge. Totality in Benghazi begins at about 11:27 local time, with the Sun high in the sky.
Yellow dots are inside the path of totality. White dots are outside it and see only a partial eclipse.
Press play or drag the slider to follow the centre of the Moon’s shadow from one side of the country to the other, with local clock time, the length of totality on the centre line and the speed of the shadow.
6m 13s in Benghazi, 6m 04s in Al Abyar
Benghazi, Libya’s second city, lies close to the centre line and has the longest totality in the country among the places we list. Libya’s Centre for Remote Sensing and Space Science recommends its Benghazi branch as an official viewing site. Suluq, Al Abyar and Tocra nearby all get more than five minutes.
0m 47s in Tripoli, 1m 30s in Tajura
Tripoli sits right at the southern edge of the path, so totality there lasts less than a minute, and Khoms gets just over a minute. The same national centre names the port of Tripoli and the port of Khoms as viewing sites. Misrata lies just outside the path, with 99.9% of the Sun covered.
Tourist visits to Libya are only possible with specialist operators, who arrange the visa, the permits for the east and the police escort. Given the travel warnings, read each operator’s safety information carefully, and check prices and availability directly with them.
Sort by totality, start time or Sun height. Cities outside the path show the share of the Sun covered instead.
| Benghazi | Total100% | 6m 13s | Totality from 11:27totality begins | Sun 68° |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Abyar | Total100% | 6m 04s | Totality from 11:28totality begins | Sun 68° |
| Suluq | Total100% | 5m 59s | Totality from 11:28totality begins | Sun 68° |
| Tocra | Total100% | 5m 24s | Totality from 11:28totality begins | Sun 68° |
| Al Marj | Total100% | 5m 15s | Totality from 11:29totality begins | Sun 68° |
| Tolmeita (Ptolemais) | Total100% | 4m 08s | Totality from 11:29totality begins | Sun 68° |
| Tajura | Total100% | 1m 30s | Totality from 11:16totality begins | Sun 60° |
| Khoms | Total100% | 1m 19s | Totality from 11:18totality begins | Sun 61° |
| Tripoli | Total100% | 0m 47s | Totality from 11:16totality begins | Sun 60° |
| Al Bayda | Partial99.9% | No totality– | Peak at 11:33peak | Sun 69° |
| Misrata | Partial99.9% | No totality– | Peak at 11:20peak | Sun 62° |
| Tobruk | Partial99.6% | No totality– | Peak at 11:38peak | Sun 72° |
| Derna | Partial99.2% | No totality– | Peak at 11:35peak | Sun 70° |
| Sirte | Partial97.9% | No totality– | Peak at 11:24peak | Sun 65° |
| Ghadames | Partial87% | No totality– | Peak at 11:10peak | Sun 56° |
| Kufra | Partial81% | No totality– | Peak at 11:46peak | Sun 77° |
| Sabha | Partial79% | No totality– | Peak at 11:23peak | Sun 64° |
Local clock time on 2 August 2027 when totality begins, or for a partial eclipse, the moment of greatest coverage.
Climatologist Jay Anderson rates Benghazi as a very good site, and parts of the path over Libya and western Egypt have seen no August cloud on eclipse day for more than two decades. Dust blown from the desert is a bigger risk than cloud.
Benghazi averages about 31°C (88°F) in the afternoon in August.
Eclipse watchers have come here before. When the total eclipse of 29 March 2006 crossed the country, the authorities built tent camps for about 7,000 visitors from 47 countries, including camps near the Egyptian border. This time, the national Centre for Remote Sensing and Space Science plans a live broadcast of the eclipse.