The recent total solar eclipse on August 12 delivered some of the most striking images of the phenomenon seen in years. Yet Europe’s brief golden age of eclipses has only just started. The so-called Iberian eclipse trio still has two installments remaining, and each is expected to top what skywatchers just witnessed.
On August 2, 2027, one of the longest total solar eclipses of this century will unfold. At its peak, the moon will completely obscure the sun for 6 minutes and 23 seconds. To put that into context, the total phase of the August 12 eclipse lasted about 2 minutes and 18 seconds. The 2027 event will hold the sun hidden for nearly three times longer, making it the longest eclipse in a century.
A narrow corridor across the planet will witness the total phase. The path begins in southern Spain and northern Africa, crossing Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, then continuing through Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Somalia. Spain will be the only European country where the total phase can be observed, though the British overseas territory of Gibraltar also lies in the path.
Egypt will experience both the peak of the eclipse and its longest duration. The moon’s shadow will sweep over ancient Thebes, home to the temples of Karnak and Luxor, and, on the opposite bank of the Nile, the Valley of the Kings. Further north, the pyramids of Giza will lie just outside the path of totality and will instead see a partial eclipse.
The third eclipse in the trio will take place on January 26, 2028. This time, the moon will not fully cover the sun. Instead, a bright ring of fire will remain visible around its edge. The path of annularity will cross South America, passing from Ecuador and Peru into Brazil, then over the Atlantic and ending in Portugal and Spain.
Brazil will host the view that lasts the longest. There, the ring will stay visible for 10 minutes and 27 seconds, a duration that places it among the longest annular eclipses of the century. Spain will have a shorter but potentially very photogenic experience. In cities such as Seville, Córdoba, Albacete, and Valencia, the ring of fire will last about seven minutes and will appear very close to the horizon shortly before sunset.
This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.
With the first of these two events still more than two years away, there is ample time to choose a vantage point along the path of totality.
