The longest total solar eclipse visible until 2114
Dos años separan a la humanidad de uno de los espectáculos más prolongados que el cosmos puede ofrecer: el 2 de agosto de 2027, la Luna cubrirá el Sol durante seis minutos y veintitrés segundos sobre tres continentes, un intervalo que no volverá a igualarse hasta el año 2114. En la larga historia de los eclipses totales, este evento ocupa un lugar singular, recordándonos que el tiempo astronómico opera en escalas que superan con creces la duración de una vida humana.
- El eclipse total del 2 de agosto de 2027 durará seis minutos y veintitrés segundos en su punto máximo, superando al eclipse de 2024 en casi dos minutos completos.
- Rumores en internet han generado confusión sobre la fecha del evento, pero el llamado 'eclipse del siglo' aún está a dos años de distancia.
- La franja de totalidad cruzará África, Oriente Medio y Europa, poniendo el fenómeno al alcance de cientos de millones de personas en España, Egipto, Arabia Saudita y Somalia, entre otros países.
- Los habitantes de América quedarán fuera del espectáculo en 2027; su próxima oportunidad llegará recién el 14 de noviembre de 2031, con totalidad únicamente en Panamá.
- Un eclipse previo el 12 de agosto de 2026, visible desde España e Islandia con apenas dos minutos de duración, funcionará como preludio al gran evento del año siguiente.
El 2 de agosto de 2027, la Luna se interpondrá entre la Tierra y el Sol de una manera que no se repetirá con igual duración hasta el año 2114. El eclipse total que se avecina alcanzará seis minutos y veintitrés segundos en su punto de máxima totalidad, superando al eclipse que cruzó Norteamérica el 8 de abril de 2024, el cual duró cuatro minutos y veintiocho segundos. Incluso el célebre eclipse de 1991, que ostentaba el récord con seis minutos y cincuenta y tres segundos, quedará por encima, pero ningún otro evento igualará al de 2027 durante los siguientes ochenta y siete años.
La franja de totalidad recorrerá un vasto arco del planeta. Comenzando en África, atravesará Marruecos, Argelia, Túnez, Libia, Sudán, Egipto y Somalia, para luego cruzar la Península Arábiga por Arabia Saudita y Yemen, y finalmente alcanzar Europa, donde España y Gibraltar podrán contemplar el fenómeno en su plenitud. Cientos de millones de personas vivirán cerca del camino de la sombra lunar, aunque solo quienes se encuentren dentro de la franja de totalidad experimentarán el oscurecimiento completo del disco solar.
Para los observadores en América, el eclipse de 2027 será invisible. Habrá que esperar hasta el 14 de noviembre de 2031, cuando un nuevo eclipse total cruce el hemisferio occidental desde Estados Unidos hasta Sudamérica, aunque la totalidad solo se vivirá en Panamá. Antes de que llegue el gran evento, el 12 de agosto de 2026 un eclipse de dos minutos y dieciocho segundos será visible desde España, Islandia, Portugal y Rusia, sirviendo de anticipo para quienes ya cuentan los días hasta el eclipse más largo de nuestra era.
Two years from now, the Moon will slip between the Earth and the Sun in a way that won't happen again for nearly a century. On August 2, 2027, a total solar eclipse will unfold across three continents, and at its peak, the sky will darken for six minutes and twenty-three seconds—a duration that will make it the longest total solar eclipse visible from Earth until 2114.
Internet rumors have circulated about an eclipse happening soon, but the so-called eclipse of the century remains two years away. When it arrives, it will dwarf the total solar eclipse that crossed North America on April 8, 2024, which lasted just four minutes and twenty-eight seconds at its point of maximum totality. The 2027 event will also outlast the famous eclipse of 1991, which held the record at six minutes and fifty-three seconds. For the next eighty-seven years after 2027, no total solar eclipse will match its length.
The path of totality will cut across a vast swath of the planet. Starting in Africa, the eclipse will be visible across parts of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Egypt, and Somalia. From there, it will sweep into the Middle East, crossing the Arabian Peninsula through Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The shadow will then move north into Europe, where observers in Spain and Gibraltar will witness the full event. This geographic spread means that hundreds of millions of people will live within reach of the spectacle, though being in the path of totality—where the Moon completely blocks the Sun's disk—will be essential to experiencing the full phenomenon.
For those in the Americas, the 2027 eclipse will be invisible. The Moon's shadow will not touch North or South America during this event. However, the wait for an American eclipse will not be indefinitely long. On November 14, 2031, another total solar eclipse will cross the Western Hemisphere, traveling from the United States southward through South America. Panama will be the only country in the Americas where the eclipse will be total; elsewhere in the region, observers will see only a partial eclipse.
Before the 2027 eclipse arrives, there is one more total solar eclipse to mark on the calendar. On August 12, 2026—just two weeks before the century eclipse—a total solar eclipse will be visible from Spain, Iceland, parts of Portugal, and Russia. That eclipse will last two minutes and eighteen seconds, a brief event compared to what follows. For astronomers and eclipse chasers, the next two years will be a period of anticipation, with 2026 serving as a warm-up to the main event that will reshape how we think about the longest solar eclipses of our lifetime.
Notable Quotes
The eclipse solar total will have a duration of up to 6 minutes and 23 seconds at its maximum point on August 2, 2027— NASA
The August 2, 2027 eclipse will be the longest total solar eclipse until 2114— Space.com
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does this eclipse get called the eclipse of the century if it's not happening until 2027?
Because it will be the longest total solar eclipse visible from Earth for the next eighty-seven years. That's a century-scale rarity. The last one that long was in 1991, and the next one won't come until 2114.
So people in the Americas are out of luck?
For this one, yes. But there's another total eclipse coming to the Western Hemisphere in 2031, so it's not a permanent miss. Panama will see the full event; the rest of the Americas will see a partial eclipse.
What makes the 2027 eclipse so much longer than the 2024 one?
The geometry is different. The 2024 eclipse lasted four minutes and twenty-eight seconds at its peak. The 2027 eclipse will last six minutes and twenty-three seconds. That extra two minutes comes down to where the Moon is in its orbit and how the shadow falls across the Earth's surface.
If I'm in Europe, can I see it?
If you're in Spain or Gibraltar, yes. The path of totality crosses through there. But you'd have to be in the right spot—the shadow is narrow. Being in the path of totality is everything.
What about Africa?
Africa gets the longest view. The eclipse will be visible across much of the continent—Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Somalia. Some of those locations will experience the full six minutes and twenty-three seconds.