On August 2, 2027, the Moon will slide in front of the Sun and turn midday into twilight along a narrow path across Earth. Near the city of Luxor in Egypt, the Sun will disappear for about six minutes and twenty seconds, making this total solar eclipse one of the longest visible events of the century.
Astronomers at NASA, the National Solar Observatory (NSO), and independent eclipse experts are already calling it a major celestial event and urging people to plan early. Some posts online have mixed it up with a smaller solar eclipse in 2025, but the marathon event that promises several minutes of darkness happens in 2027, not this year.
A solar eclipse record for the twenty-first century
Most total solar eclipses keep the Sun hidden for only two or three minutes. So what makes this one so special? In 2027, the sweet spot just southeast of Luxor is forecast to enjoy about six minutes and twenty two seconds of darkness as the Moon’s shadow sweeps over the Nile Valley.
The reason has to do with a bit of cosmic timing. During this eclipse the Moon will be a little closer to Earth than usual, so it looks slightly larger in the sky, while the Sun is a little farther away and looks slightly smaller, which lets the Moon cover it for longer. The path also crosses near the equator, where Earth’s surface is moving fastest due to rotation, so the Moon’s shadow hangs on for a few extra seconds over the same spots on the ground.
Fred Espenak, a retired NASA astronomer who runs the EclipseWise project, says this event rivals the great total eclipses of recent decades. Science outlet EarthSky describes the 2027 eclipse as one of the standout natural shows of this century.
From spain to somalia: the path of totality
The eclipse’s dark central path begins over the eastern Atlantic Ocean, then reaches land in southern Spain and the British territory of Gibraltar before crossing the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco. From there it sweeps across northern Algeria and Tunisia, clips northern Libya, then runs east across central Egypt on its way toward Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the Horn of Africa.
Cities lined up under the path of totality include Cádiz and Málaga in Spain, Tangier in Morocco, Oran in Algeria, and Sfax in Tunisia. In Egypt, the central line passes close to Sohag, Qena, and Luxor along the Nile, where the Sun will vanish for more than six minutes in the early afternoon. Farther east, Jeddah and Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Sana’a in Yemen, and coastal towns in Somalia will also see day briefly turn to night.
Outside that narrow band, a much larger region will see a partial eclipse, where the Moon takes a visible bite out of the Sun but never covers it completely. Timeanddate and other astronomy services estimate that most of Africa, nearly all of Europe, parts of western and southern Asia, and even a small slice of northeastern North America will get at least a quick glimpse. In places like the U.S. state of Maine, the partial phase happens just after sunrise and lasts only a few minutes before the Sun moves higher and the show is over.
How a total solar eclipse works and how to watch it safely
A solar eclipse happens when the Moon lines up just right between Earth and the Sun and casts its shadow onto our planet. Even though the Sun is about four hundred times wider than the Moon, it is also about four hundred times farther away, so from here they look almost the same size. When that alignment is perfect and the Moon fully covers the bright face of the Sun, people inside the narrow shadow path experience a total solar eclipse.
As totality begins, the last bright points of sunlight vanish and a soft twilight settles over the landscape. The temperature can drop, streetlights may switch on, and planets like Venus or Jupiter can pop into view where only blue sky stood minutes before. For many people, that strange mix of darkness, noise from city traffic, and sudden cheering from the crowd becomes a story they tell friends for years.
NASA and the American Astronomical Society stress that viewers need certified eclipse glasses or other special solar filters for every stage of the eclipse, except the brief period of totality when the Sun is completely covered. Ordinary sunglasses are not safe, and cameras, binoculars, or telescopes must have proper front mounted solar filters, or you risk serious and permanent eye damage.
The main official information about this eclipse has been published by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
