The August 2, 2027 Total Solar Eclipse: Where, When and How Long

On Monday, August 2, 2027, the Moon will pass directly in front of the Sun and turn day into night along a narrow strip of Earth. This one is special: near Luxor, Egypt, totality lasts up to 6 minutes and 23 seconds. That makes it the longest total eclipse over easily accessible land in the 21st century. A longer one won't happen until 2114.

Why it lasts so long

A total eclipse's length depends on how large the Moon looks compared to the Sun. On August 2, 2027, the Moon is only a couple of hours from perigee, its closest point to Earth, so it appears unusually large. Earth is also just a month past aphelion, its farthest point from the Sun, so the Sun appears slightly smaller than average. A big Moon covering a small Sun means a wide shadow that takes a long time to sweep past any one spot. The path also runs fairly close to the equator, where Earth's rotation carries observers along in the same direction as the shadow, stretching totality further.

Where to see totality

The path of totality starts in the Atlantic and crosses:

• Southern Spain and Gibraltar, the most accessible spots for travelers from Europe
• Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya
• Egypt, including Luxor, near the point of greatest eclipse (about 10:07 UT)
• Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia

North Africa in August has some of the most reliably clear skies of any eclipse path, a big part of why astronomers are excited about this one. A partial eclipse is visible across a much wider area, including most of Europe, North and East Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. The eclipse is not visible from the Americas.

The rest of 2027's eclipses

• Feb 6: annular ("ring of fire") solar eclipse over southern Chile and Argentina
• Feb 20: deep penumbral lunar eclipse, best seen from Europe, Africa and western Asia
• Jul 18: very slight penumbral lunar eclipse, effectively invisible
• Aug 17: penumbral lunar eclipse, a subtle shading of the Moon

How to watch safely

Never look at the partially eclipsed Sun without eye protection. Sunglasses are not enough. Use eclipse glasses certified to the ISO 12312-2 standard, or project the Sun's image through a pinhole. Only during the brief window of totality, when the Sun is completely covered, is it safe to look with the naked eye. Put your glasses back on the moment the first bright bead of sunlight reappears.

Keep it on your calendar

Our 2027 Night Sky Calendar marks every 2027 eclipse alongside daily Moon phases, meteor shower peaks and the darkest-sky nights each month. For the wall, the 2027 Lunar Calendar Poster shows every night of the year with eclipse dates ringed.

Eclipse dates and durations per NASA eclipse predictions (Espenak & Meeus).