Start Planning Now For The Upcoming Solar Eclipse Of The Century
Mark your calendars and prepare your travel itineraries, because on August 2, 2027, some parts of the world will witness a special solar eclipse. Although almost no one in the U.S. will see it (unless you live in the north-eastern part of Maine), this eclipse will plunge parts of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East into daytime darkness for an estimated 6 minutes and 23 seconds, making it one of the longest total solar eclipses of our lifetimes.
For skywatchers who felt the spectacular 2024 North American eclipse left them wanting more, the 2027 event promises an equally strong endurance run, although one would need to put in some extra legwork to watch it. The moon's shadow will first touch down in the eastern Atlantic Ocean before making its initial landfall over the southern tip of Spain and Gibraltar. From there, the umbra will cross the Mediterranean and sweep aggressively across the African continent. The path of totality will engulf major portions of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt before continuing across the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the Horn of Africa.
At the center of it all, Libya is being touted as one of the main spotting locations, where it will experience one of the longest stretches of totality with the arid climate of the Sahara Desert offering incredibly high odds of cloud-free skies. The absolute point of the eclipse, however, will occur just east of the Libyan border, near the ancient ruins of Luxor, Egypt. There, onlookers will experience nearly six and a half minutes of total darkness. To put that into perspective, that's three minutes longer than the 2024 event, and no subsequent eclipse will surpass this length until the year 2114.
For residents of the United States, sorry to say, the path of totality completely bypasses the Western Hemisphere. The only U.S. territory that will catch even a sliver of the event is the extreme northeastern tip of Maine. In locations like Lubec or Hamlin, a nearly imperceptible partial eclipse will coincide with the morning sunrise, lasting merely five minutes before concluding. For the rest of the country, the sun will remain entirely unobscured; the next full totality opportunity will be in 2044.
Consequently, viewing the 2027 eclipse requires committing to a major international expedition. Because the path primarily covers the blazing landscapes of the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula, travelers will want to prepare for extreme heat alongside their stargazing. Tour operators are already seeing increased demand for Nile River cruises, Moroccan coastal resorts, and specialized desert viewing camps, so we're not exaggerating here.
Image credits: NASA
