The total solar eclipse of August 2, 2027 is a new-moon eclipse whose path of totality runs from the Atlantic across southern Spain, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, with up to 6 minutes 23 seconds of darkness. Greatest eclipse occurs at 10:06 UTC in Egypt, east of Luxor, where the Sun stands almost overhead.
Key facts
- Totality lasts up to 6 min 23 s, on the central line in Egypt's Nile Valley near Luxor.
- Greatest eclipse is at 10:06 UTC; the path of totality is up to 258 km (160 mi) wide.
- In Spain, only the far south around Cádiz, Tarifa, Gibraltar and Málaga sees totality, for about 2 to 4½ minutes.
- The Moon is new and close to perigee, so it looks large enough to cover the Sun for a long time.
- Watch every partial phase through ISO 12312-2 solar viewers.
Where is the path of totality?
The path of totality is a band up to 258 km (160 mi) wide that crosses southern Spain, Gibraltar, northern Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia.
The Moon’s dark shadow first touches Earth at sunrise over the Atlantic at 08:23 UTC. It reaches the Strait of Gibraltar about 20 minutes later and then sweeps east and southeast:
- 08:45 UTC: southern Spain, Gibraltar, Ceuta and northern Morocco
- 08:50–09:10 UTC: the coast of Algeria and central Tunisia
- 09:30 UTC: eastern Libya, around Benghazi
- 10:00 UTC: Egypt’s Nile Valley, around Luxor
- 10:20–10:45 UTC: the Red Sea, western Saudi Arabia and Yemen
- 11:00 UTC: Somalia, before the shadow leaves Earth at sunset over the Indian Ocean at 11:50 UTC
In Spain the path covers only the far south. Cádiz lies near the northern edge, Tarifa and Gibraltar sit well inside, and Seville lies just outside. Unlike a lunar eclipse, which anyone on Earth’s night side can watch, totality is visible only inside this narrow band.
Where does totality last longest?
Totality lasts longest, about 6 minutes 23 seconds, on the central line in Egypt’s Nile Valley, near Luxor.
NASA places greatest eclipse at 10:06:38 UTC, at 25°30′ N, 33°11′ E, in the desert east of Luxor. There the Sun stands 81.7° above the horizon and totality lasts 6 min 22.6 s. The duration stays above 6 minutes 20 seconds along a long stretch of the central line through Upper Egypt.
Totality is longest on the central line and shrinks toward the edges of the path. A site 30 km (19 mi) off the central line loses only about 10 seconds, but a site close to the edge may get less than a minute.
What time is totality in each place?
Totality begins at about 08:45 UTC in southern Spain and about 10:25 UTC in western Saudi Arabia, and lasts from about 2 minutes in Málaga to more than 6 minutes in Egypt.
| Place | Totality lasts (approx.) | Totality begins (UTC) | Local time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cádiz, Spain | 2 min 55 s | 08:45 | 10:45 |
| Tarifa, Spain | 4½ min | 08:45 | 10:45 |
| Gibraltar | 4½ min | 08:45 | 10:45 |
| Málaga, Spain | 2 min | 08:48 | 10:48 |
| Tangier, Morocco | 4 min 50 s | 08:45 | 09:45 |
| Oran, Algeria | 5 min 10 s | 08:51 | 09:51 |
| Sfax, Tunisia | 5 min 40 s | 09:09 | 10:09 |
| Benghazi, Libya | 6 min 10 s | 09:28 | 11:28 |
| Luxor, Egypt | 6 min 20 s | 10:02 | early afternoon |
| Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | 6 min | 10:22 | 13:22 |
| Mecca, Saudi Arabia | 5 min 10 s | 10:24 | 13:24 |
Times are rounded to the minute and durations to the nearest few seconds. Local time assumes summer time in Spain and Gibraltar (UTC+2), UTC+1 in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, UTC+2 in Libya and UTC+3 in Saudi Arabia. A few kilometers toward the central line can add many seconds of totality, so check a local-circumstances calculator for your exact site.
How much of the Sun is covered outside the path?
Outside the path, a partial eclipse covers part of the Sun across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and western and southern Asia, between 07:30 and 12:43 UTC.
The closer a place is to the path, the more of the Sun is hidden. Southern and central Spain, Portugal, North Africa and Egypt see most of the Sun covered. Coverage falls to around half in France and to less than half in Britain, Germany and Scandinavia.
According to timeanddate, about 4.6 billion people live where at least part of the eclipse is visible, but only about 89 million live inside the path of totality. Even 90% coverage leaves the sky bright, so the difference between a deep partial eclipse and totality is dramatic.
Why is this eclipse so long?
Totality lasts so long because the Moon is near perigee, Earth is near aphelion, and the path runs close to the point where the Sun is overhead.
- The Moon is close. The Moon passes perigee, its closest point to Earth, about 4 hours before the eclipse, at roughly 357,400 km (222,100 mi). It looks about 8% wider than the Sun, so its shadow is unusually large. A new moon this close is the new-moon counterpart of a supermoon.
- The Sun is far. Earth passed aphelion, its farthest point from the Sun, in early July. On eclipse day the Sun is about 1.5% farther away than average, so it looks slightly smaller.
- The Sun is high. Greatest eclipse falls about 25° north of the equator with the Sun 82° high. There, Earth’s rotation carries the ground eastward at about 1,500 km/h, in the same direction as the shadow, so the shadow passes over each spot more slowly.
What phase is the Moon in during the eclipse?
The Moon is new: the new moon falls at about 10:05 UTC on August 2, 2027, about a minute before greatest eclipse.
A solar eclipse can happen only at new moon, when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth. Most new moons miss the Sun because the Moon’s orbit is tilted 5.14°, so only new moons in an eclipse season produce an eclipse. The next new moon page shows the date of the coming one.
Our page for the moon phase on August 2, 2027 shows the Moon’s phase that day, and the moon calendar 2027 shows the full and new moons around it. Two weeks later, the following full moon brings a slight penumbral lunar eclipse in the same eclipse season. The lunar vs solar eclipse comparison explains why the two often come in pairs.
How do you watch the eclipse safely?
Watch every partial phase through solar viewers that meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard, and remove them only during totality, when the Moon completely covers the Sun’s bright face.
- Regular sunglasses, however dark, are not safe for looking at the Sun.
- Put your viewers back on as soon as the first bright edge of the Sun reappears.
- Cameras, binoculars and telescopes need a solar filter fitted on the front. Eclipse glasses do not protect you when you look through optics.
- A pinhole projector, or the gaps between leaves, shows the crescent Sun safely on the ground.
- Outside the path of totality, keep protection on for the whole eclipse, even at 90% coverage.
- Protect your skin too. NASA recommends sunscreen, a hat and protective clothing for long viewing sessions.
What are the weather prospects along the path?
Egypt and Libya have the best weather prospects, because cloud is almost unknown there in summer, according to eclipse meteorologist Jay Anderson.
- Spain and Morocco: marine stratus cloud from the Atlantic can affect the coast around Cádiz, Tarifa and Tangier on some mornings. Inland sites in the path are excellent, with average cloud amounts below 15%.
- Algeria and Tunisia: morning cloud is usually light, and prospects are promising.
- Libya and Egypt: the best prospects on the whole path. Heat is the main challenge: Luxor’s average high on August 2 is about 42 °C (108 °F).
- Saudi Arabia and Yemen: cloud is more frequent than farther west, and airborne dust can haze the sky.
How should you plan a trip to see it?
Plan for a site near the central line, the freedom to move if clouds appear, and serious summer heat.
- Aim for the central line. In Spain, a site near Tarifa gets far more totality than Cádiz, which lies near the northern edge.
- Book early. Southern Spain and Egypt’s Nile Valley are popular summer destinations, and rooms near the central line will be in demand.
- Stay mobile. A car lets you move inland if coastal cloud forms on the morning of the eclipse.
- Mind the clock. Morocco is one hour behind Spain, so the same totality happens at 09:45 in Tangier and 10:45 across the strait in Tarifa.
- Prepare for heat. In Egypt and Libya, bring water and shade for several hours in the sun.
- Test your equipment. Buy solar viewers and filters well before the trip and practice with them.
When is the next total solar eclipse in Europe?
The next total solar eclipse in Europe is on , when totality crosses southern Spain and Gibraltar before greatest eclipse over North Africa (25.5°N, 33.2°E).
The previous total solar eclipse in Europe was on August 12, 2026, when totality crossed Greenland, Iceland and Spain for up to 2 minutes 18 seconds.
That makes August 2, 2027 the second total eclipse over Spain in less than a year. After 2027, NASA’s eclipse tables show no total solar eclipse path across Portugal, France, Italy, Germany or the British Isles for more than four decades. Spain’s next one, more than 25 years later, is a brief eclipse with a narrow path that only clips the area around the Strait of Gibraltar.
Before 2026, the most recent total solar eclipse in Europe was on March 20, 2015, when totality fell on the Faroe Islands and Svalbard. For eclipses elsewhere in the world, our eclipse guide lists the next six solar eclipses with the place where each is greatest.