Total Solar Eclipse of August 2, 2027: Path, Times and the 6-Minute-23-Second Maximum
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How we wrote this: A summary of NASA's Future Eclipses page and NASA Goddard's eclipse tables for this eclipse (linked below), checked October 29, 2026. Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC). Times are in Universal Time (UT) unless noted; check the interactive map for your exact spot.
On Monday, August 2, 2027, the Moon's shadow sweeps from the Atlantic across the Strait of Gibraltar, North Africa and the Red Sea to the Horn of Africa. For anyone who can travel, it's a long one: over Egypt, the Sun stays completely hidden for more than six minutes.
The key numbers
From NASA Goddard's 2021–2030 eclipse table:
| Type | Total |
| Greatest eclipse | 10:07:49 TD (about 10:06:33 UT, or 6:06 a.m. EDT) |
| Maximum duration of totality | 6 minutes 23 seconds |
| Magnitude | 1.079 |
| Saros series | 136 |
"TD" is Terrestrial Dynamical Time, the timescale the predictions use. NASA's maps use a ΔT of 76 seconds, so UT is about 76 seconds earlier.
Where totality is visible
NASA's Future Eclipses page lists southern Spain, North Africa (including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt), Saudi Arabia and Yemen; Goddard's table adds Somalia. Goddard's path table puts the path of totality at about 235 to 260 km (roughly 145 to 160 miles) wide where it crosses land.
A few points along the central line, from that table (times are UT; durations are on the central line, and shorter away from it):
| Time (UT) | Central line near | Totality |
|---|---|---|
| 08:48 | 35°43′N, 5°01′W (off Morocco, just east of the Strait of Gibraltar) | 4 min 54 s |
| 09:10 | 34°43′N, 9°52′E (Tunisia) | 5 min 42 s |
| 10:00 | 26°53′N, 31°01′E (Egypt) | 6 min 23 s |
| 10:20 | 22°31′N, 37°21′E (Red Sea) | 6 min 18 s |
| 10:40 | 17°32′N, 43°23′E (Saudi Arabia, near the Yemen border) | 6 min 01 s |
Totality is longest, a little over 6 minutes 23 seconds, along the central line over Egypt around 10:00 to 10:02 UT.
Can you see it from the United States?
Not the total eclipse. NASA says a partial eclipse will be visible across most of Europe, much of Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, eastern Canada and northern Maine, plus the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Use NASA Goddard's interactive map (linked below) and click your location to see local times and how much of the Sun is covered.
What totality looks like
NASA explains that a total eclipse happens when the Moon completely blocks the face of the Sun. In the path, the sky darkens as if it were dawn or dusk, and you can see the corona, the Sun's outer atmosphere, normally hidden by its glare. Totality is the only time it's safe to look without eye protection, and only for those brief minutes.
Watching safely
- Before and after totality, use eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer that meets the ISO 12312-2 standard. Regular sunglasses are not safe, however dark.
- Take them off only when the Sun is completely covered. As soon as any bright Sun reappears, put them back on.
- Never look through binoculars, a telescope or a camera while wearing eclipse glasses. Optics need their own solar filters on the front.
- In the partial-only areas (including northern Maine), you need protection the entire time.
Full details: how to watch a solar eclipse safely.
Planning a trip
A few practical points if you're thinking about going:
- Pick a spot near the central line. Goddard's durations are for the central line; totality is shorter toward the edges of the path.
- It's high summer in the path. NASA's safety page reminds viewers that a whole eclipse can mean hours in direct sun: sunscreen, a hat and protective clothing.
- Check your exact location on Goddard's interactive map before booking anything; it calculates local start, totality and end times for any point you click.
Six months earlier there's an annular "ring of fire" eclipse over South America; see the February 6, 2027 annular eclipse. For other dates to put on the calendar, see equinoxes and solstices in 2027 and full moon dates.