Path of Totality

Is your town in the path of totality?

294calendar days until the total solar eclipse of August 2, 2027, counted from October 12, 2026

For a few minutes the Moon covers the Sun completely and the sky goes dark in the middle of the day. Here's where that happens next, how long it lasts, and a checker for towns near the path.

Check a town for 2027How to watch safely

Next up: August 2, 2027

NASA's decade-table entry for the path reads “[Total:Morocco, Spain, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia]”. The longest totality is in southern Egypt, near Luxor. In Spain, IGN says “La zona de totalidad cubrirá las ciudades autónomas de Ceuta y Melilla, casi toda la provincia de Cádiz, gran parte de la provincia de Málaga y las zonas más meridionales de las provincias de Granada y Almería.” (Our translation: Ceuta and Melilla, almost all of Cádiz province, much of Málaga province and the southernmost parts of Granada and Almería.)

Path of totality, August 2, 2027The shadow band crosses the Strait of Gibraltar, follows North Africa through Egypt and crosses the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia and Yemen.Tangier: In the path (our calculation)TangierBenghazi: In the path (our calculation)BenghaziLuxor: In the path (our calculation)LuxorCairo: Outside the path (our calculation)CairoJeddah: In the path (our calculation)Jeddah
The shadow band crosses the Strait of Gibraltar, follows North Africa through Egypt and crosses the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Shaded band: our calculation from NASA's Besselian elements (inside the Moon's shadow at maximum, Sun above the horizon); center line from NASA's path table. Outlines: Natural Earth (drawing only).

Three eclipses on this site

August 2, 2027

Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Up to 6m 23s of totality (NASA). 80 places in our tables, 47 of them selectable in the checker.

August 22, 2044

Greenland, northern Canada, Montana and North Dakota, at sunset in the US. Up to 2m 04s (NASA).

August 12, 2045

Coast to coast across the US, then the Caribbean and South America. Up to 6m 06s (NASA).

Watching safely

“You can view the eclipse directly without proper eye protection only when the Moon completely obscures the Sun’s bright face – during the brief and spectacular period known as totality.”

NASA, Eclipse safety

More from NASA and the American Astronomical Society

Questions

When is the next total solar eclipse?

On August 2, 2027. NASA puts greatest eclipse at 10:06:37.7 UT, with the longest totality, 6m 23s, in southern Egypt. NASA's decade-table entry for the path reads “[Total:Morocco, Spain, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia]”.

When is the next total eclipse in the contiguous United States?

August 22, 2044 (local time), when the path crosses Montana and North Dakota near sunset, followed by August 12, 2045, when it crosses the country from California to Florida. NASA's decade-table entry for 2045 reads “[Total: s US, Haiti, Dominican Rep., Venezuela, Guyana, Fr. Guyana, Suriname, Brazil]”. Alaska gets one sooner: NASA's decade table lists a total eclipse on 2033 Mar 30, with the entry “[Total: e Russia, Alaska]”.

What do NASA and the AAS say about looking at a total eclipse?

NASA: “You can view the eclipse directly without proper eye protection only when the Moon completely obscures the Sun’s bright face – during the brief and spectacular period known as totality.” The American Astronomical Society: “During a total solar eclipse, looking directly at the Sun is unsafe except during the brief total phase ("totality"), when the Moon entirely blocks the Sun’s bright face, which happens only within the narrow path of totality and only for a few minutes.” Our safety page has every quote we use, with links.

Will it be clear on eclipse day?

We don't predict weather. Check the official forecast closer to the date.