The planet will record the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century in 2027, with more than six minutes of complete darkness. The phenomenon will occur on August 2, 2027 and will have its peak in the Luxor region, Egypt. Residents and visitors to the historic city will witness total darkness for 6 minutes and 22 seconds.
The band of total darkness will pass through countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia are in the main eclipse path.
Other regions of the world will be able to partially observe the phenomenon. The Moon will cover only a portion of the Sun for observers in Europe, Africa, southern Asia and eastern North America. In Brazil, visibility will be partial at certain times of the morning.
How the phenomenon works
The unusual duration of the eclipse occurs because the Moon will be at perigee, the closest point in its orbit to Earth. Because of this, the satellite’s shadow will be larger, covering an area of 2.5 million square kilometers.
This will be the longest total eclipse on Earth in the period between 1991 and 2114. The event easily surpasses the April 2024 eclipse in North America, which lasted 4 minutes and 28 seconds.
According to the Time and Date website, the timeline of the phenomenon will be:
- Start of partial eclipse: 7:30 am (4:30 am in Brasília)
- Start of the total eclipse: 08:23 am (05:23 am in Brasília)
- Maximum eclipse: 10:06 am (7:06 am in Brasília)
- End of the total eclipse: 11:49 am (08:49 am in Brasília)
- End of partial eclipse: 12:43 pm (09:43 am in Brasília)
The cosmic coincidence
A solar eclipse happens because the Sun and Moon appear to be exactly the same size from Earth. However, the Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon, but it is also 400 times further from Earth. When the stars align, the Moon perfectly covers the solar disk, temporarily erasing the king star.
During the minutes of totality, the sky takes on a twilight glow in all directions. Stars become visible in broad daylight and the solar corona, the Sun’s outer atmosphere, appears in all its glory, normally hidden by the intense glare.
How to observe?
Watching the eclipse requires care. Observation glasses with ISO 12312-2 certification and telescopes with solar filters are essential to avoid damage to your vision. Those on the path of totality, however, will be able to remove protection only during the brief interval in which the Sun is completely covered by the Moon.
More than a scientific spectacle, it is a sensorial and almost emotional experience: for a few minutes, the world transforms before your eyes, into one of the most impressive phenomena that nature can offer.