- The total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027 will sweep across southern Europe and North Africa
- Totality will range from 2 to nearly 5 minutes in Spain and exceed 6 minutes near Luxor, Egypt
- The Moon will be near perigee, increasing its apparent size and extending totality
- The path width at maximum will approach 258 kilometres
- Spanish authorities are coordinating viewing sites and public information campaigns]
Like Dublin buses, you wait 121 years for an eclipse and THREE of them come together. Spain is getting TWO more, on 2 August 2027 and on January 26, 2028,
The next total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027 has been forecast to sweep across southern Europe and North Africa, offering one of the longest periods of totality available to observers in the twenty-first century. The path of the Moon’s umbral shadow will first make landfall near the Strait of Gibraltar, crossing the southern tip of Spain, including parts of Cádiz and Málaga, as well as the English Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Other parts of Europe will experience a partial solar eclipse.
In Spain, the duration of totality will range from roughly 2 to nearly 5 minutes depending on precise location within the path. Ceuta is expected to experience close to 4 minutes and 48 seconds, while Cádiz will see approximately 2 minutes and 54 seconds and Málaga around 1 minute and 48 seconds. Gibraltar itself will enjoy more than 4 minutes of total coverage. Near Luxor in Egypt, close to the point of greatest eclipse, totality will last approximately 6 minutes and 23 seconds.
The path width at maximum will approach 258 kilometres, giving a relatively broad corridor for viewing. The Moon will be near perigee, increasing its apparent size relative to the Sun and extending the total phase. For viewers in southern Spain and Gibraltar, the event will take place in the mid-morning with the Sun reasonably high in the sky. In North Africa and Egypt, the timing will shift toward local midday, providing ideal conditions for corona observation and scientific measurement.
That is not the end of the sub-path. There is another due on Wednesday, January 26, 2028, an annular solar eclipse will create a spectacular “ring of fire” in the sky. This happens because the Moon will be too far from Earth to fully cover the Sun. Instead, a bright ring of sunlight will remain visible around the dark edge of the Moon. The path of the eclipse will finish in southern Portugal, northern Morocco, and southern Spain.
Spain’s Astronomical Society shared in a written statement “the 2027 event represents the eclipse of the century for most living observers, since no longer total solar eclipse will occur until well into the twenty-second century.”
