Solar eclipse of August 2, 2027


The solar eclipse of August 2, 2027, also known as the Eclipse of the Century, is an upcoming total solar eclipse that will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Monday, August 2, 2027, with a magnitude of 1.079. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 2.5 hours before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.

Path

Totality will commence over the eastern Atlantic Ocean and travel across the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco, and continue across parts of North Africa and the Middle East. Also, It will be visible in Central Asia, Indian Ocean Islands. Major cities and locations under the path of totality will include:
The maximum duration of totality will be observed in Egypt, approximately southeast of Luxor, and will last 6 minutes and 22 seconds.
A partial solar eclipse will be visible from the extreme east tip of Maine, United States, far eastern Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces in Canada, southern Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Great Britain, nearly the entirety of the European continent, all but the southern quarter of Africa, the Middle East, and from South and Southeast Asia.
It will be the first of three total solar eclipses that are observable in Tunisia in the 21st century, passing over the central part of the country. It will be the second total eclipse in Spain within a year, after August 2026. An annular eclipse will appear in Spain in January 2028. A national eclipse committee has been established to coordinate eclipse-related activities.

Duration

This is the second longest total solar eclipse in the 21st century, the longest being the eclipse prior to this one in Solar Saros 136, that of July 22, 2009. The 2009 eclipse maximum duration of 6 minutes and 39.5 seconds occurred on the Pacific Ocean, and the longest duration on land was on remote, uninhabited North Iwo Jima, where visiting is not allowed without special permission. The maximum duration of this eclipse is 6 minutes and 23.2 seconds, occurring in the northeastern part of Egypt's New Valley Governorate. The location of the greatest eclipse is about southeast in Red Sea Governorate, with a slightly shorter duration. This is the longest total solar eclipse on easily accessible land in the 21st century; a longer one will not occur until June 3, 2114.

Images

Animated path

Eclipse details

Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the Moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
EventTime
First Penumbral External Contact2027 August 2 at 07:31:21.9 UTC
First Umbral External Contact2027 August 2 at 08:24:37.8 UTC
First Central Line2027 August 2 at 08:26:14.5 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact2027 August 2 at 08:27:51.1 UTC
First Penumbral Internal Contact2027 August 2 at 09:22:00.9 UTC
Greatest Duration2027 August 2 at 10:01:33.8 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction2027 August 2 at 10:02:10.7 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction2027 August 2 at 10:06:23.6 UTC
Greatest Eclipse2027 August 2 at 10:07:50.2 UTC
Last Penumbral Internal Contact2027 August 2 at 10:53:47.0 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact2027 August 2 at 11:47:53.1 UTC
Last Central Line2027 August 2 at 11:49:29.5 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact2027 August 2 at 11:51:05.9 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact2027 August 2 at 12:44:21.3 UTC

ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude1.07903
Eclipse Obscuration1.16430
Gamma0.14209
Sun Right Ascension08h49m26.9s
Sun Declination+17°45'41.3"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'45.5"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.7"
Moon Right Ascension08h49m40.1s
Moon Declination+17°53'47.8"
Moon Semi-Diameter16'43.1"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax1°01'21.4"
ΔT72.8 s

Characteristics

Bright stars and planets visible during totality

The eclipsed Sun will be in mid-Cancer, a few degrees southeast of the Beehive Cluster and Venus. Mercury will be several degrees west of Venus. Venus will be hanging out with Jupiter in the Gemini home of Pollux and Castor. Saturn will be many degrees west of the Sun. Mars will be many degrees farther east in Virgo. Over most of the continental areas in the path of totality, the Winter Hexagon will be visible, although on the Arabian Peninsula its westernmost stars -- Aldebaran and Rigel—will be low. In the British Indian Ocean Territory the Winter Hexagon stars will either have disappeared below the western horizon or will be very low, but Alpha Centauri, Beta Centauri and the Southern Cross will be well up in the south.

Eclipse path intersections

The path of the August 2, 2027 eclipse will be crossed by the path of another solar eclipse less than 7 years later, on March 20, 2034, at a location on the southeastern coast of Egypt. This is similar to the intersection in the paths of the August 2017 and April 2024 total solar eclipses in the United States, over southern Illinois, and in Turkey during the August 1999 and March 2006 solar eclipses; the intersections within these pairs of total eclipses also occurred about 7 years apart. This phenomenon is considered to be unusual, since the average interval for any given spot on Earth to observe a total solar eclipse is about once every 375 years. The intersection patterns are caused by the dynamics of the Saros cycle.

Impact

Economy and tourism

The August 2027 total solar eclipse, also dubbed the "Eclipse of the Century" by media outlets, is expected to draw large numbers of tourists and become the most photographed astronomical event in history. In December 2025, about a year and a half before the eclipse, regions in southern Spain and Morocco were already reporting early hotel sell-outs, and travel operators predicted a multi-million-euro surge in tourism. An estimated 89 million people live in the path of totality, at least double the 44 million people who lived within the path of totality of the April 2024 solar eclipse in North America. One source estimated that over 200 million people could attempt to watch the August 2027 solar eclipse.

Eclipse season

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight. The first and last eclipse in this sequence is separated by one synodic month.
July 18
Ascending node
August 2
Descending node
August 17
Ascending node
Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 110		Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 136		Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 148

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 2027

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 136

Inex

Triad