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2027 Total Solar Eclipse: What to Expect and How to Protect Your Eyes

2027 Total Solar Eclipse: What to Expect and How to Protect Your Eyes

On 2 August 2027 the Moon fully covers the Sun. The shadow runs from Spain across North Africa and Egypt to the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia. This article explains what happens during a total solar eclipse, how to protect your eyes and how to behave while it happens. Every statement rests on the sources at the end of the article.

The two Colossi of Memnon on the West Bank of Luxor, inside the path of the 2027 total solar eclipse

The eclipse in numbers

  • Date: Monday, 2 August 2027, total solar eclipse (EclipseWise)
  • Greatest eclipse: 10:06 UT (EclipseWise)
  • Longest totality: 6 minutes 23 seconds (NASA, EclipseWise)
  • Width of the path of totality: about 258 kilometers (EclipseWise)
  • Totality in countries including Spain, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia (EclipseWise)

In Egypt, Luxor lies very close to the center line of the path (Eclipse Atlas). Totality lasts just over six minutes there. For Luxor, Orbital Radar and other providers calculate the maximum shortly after 1 pm local time. These are third-party calculations. The exact times for your location are in the tables at EclipseWise.

What you experience during the eclipse

Before totality the Moon covers the Sun bit by bit. This partial phase lasts much longer than totality itself. Orbital Radar calculates roughly 11:40 am to 2:26 pm local time for Luxor. You need eye protection throughout. Shortly before and after totality, faint moving dark stripes called shadow bands can appear.

During totality the sky turns dark, as at dawn or dusk. The air temperature drops, and an eerie silence often settles around you. You may see a sunset all around the horizon, plus bright stars or planets. The Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, shows as streams of white light, and the chromosphere as a thin pink ring around the Moon. At the beginning and end of totality the diamond ring shines, a bright spot at the Moon’s edge. You also see Baily’s Beads, single points of light that are very short-lived (NASA).

Eye safety: the rules at a glance

The organizations listed here give the same basic rules.

  • Unprotected only during totality. Only in the minutes when the Moon fully covers the Sun is it safe to look directly without a filter (NASA, AAS, American Academy of Ophthalmology, ISO).
  • Glasses that meet ISO 12312-2. NASA describes safe solar viewers as thousands of times darker and says they ought to comply with this international standard (NASA). In Europe the German Ophthalmological Society and the Federal Office for Radiation Protection point to DIN EN ISO 12312-2:2015 with the CE mark (DOG, BfS).
  • Ordinary sunglasses do not protect. Not even very dark ones (NASA, AAO, Royal College of Ophthalmologists).
  • Homemade filters are not safe. This includes smoked glass and photographic film (ISO), and, according to the DOG, rescue blankets, CDs, X-ray films and glacier glasses. The DOG also says simple welding goggles are not automatically suitable.
  • Inspect your glasses before each use. Discard them if they are scratched, punctured or torn (NASA, AAS, ISO). The AAS describes that the Sun looks comfortably bright through a safe filter, about like the full Moon. If it looks uncomfortably bright, out of focus or hazy, the viewer is not safe.
  • Buy from reputable manufacturers. Fake certifications exist. The AAS advises buying directly from a manufacturer or its authorized dealers and keeps a list of manufacturers.
  • Never combine glasses with optics. Binoculars, telescopes and cameras need their own solar filter on the front of the device. Eclipse glasses worn behind binoculars are not enough (NASA, AAS, AAO).
  • Supervise children. They should read and follow the instructions that come with their glasses (NASA, AAO).
  • Observe indirectly. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists calls indirect observation the safest way, for example through a live broadcast, and lists pinhole projection as a safe option (Royal College of Ophthalmologists). With a pinhole you never look at the Sun through the hole (NASA).

When do you take your glasses off?

Only when the Moon completely covers the Sun and it suddenly gets quite dark (AAS). NASA gives as the sign that the diamond ring has disappeared and no direct sunlight is left. Put your glasses back on before totality ends, at the latest as soon as you see bright sunlight again. Look away before you remove the glasses (AAS, AAO). Outside the path of totality the eclipse stays partial. There you keep your eye protection on during the whole eclipse (AAS).

How to behave during the eclipse

  • Stand still and cover your eyes before you look up (AAO).
  • Protect your skin as well. NASA advises sunscreen, a hat and protective clothing, even during the partial phases (NASA).
  • Do not rely on internet tips such as film strips, rescue blankets or sunglasses (BfS).

Photographing and filming

Cameras, binoculars and telescopes concentrate light and need a solar filter attached to the front of the optics (NASA, AAS). NASA advises consulting an astronomer first. Filters that thread into an eyepiece are unsuitable because the concentrated light can destroy them (AAS). The AAS list also includes filters for smartphones. Whether a single product is safe is a matter for its manufacturer and specialist retailers.

If you notice problems after looking at the Sun

Retinal damage does not hurt when it happens. Symptoms may only become apparent several hours later and can include blurred or distorted vision and a dark spot in the center of vision (Royal College of Ophthalmologists, DOG). The Royal College of Ophthalmologists advises anyone who notices vision changes after looking at the Sun to seek prompt advice from an eye-care professional. According to the DOG there is no therapy for the damage, and it may or may not recede.

The avenue of ram-headed sphinxes leading to the first pylon of Karnak Temple in Luxor

Experience the eclipse in Luxor

If you want to see the total solar eclipse in Luxor, you will find all the details of our Nile trip from Aswan, 30 July to 2 August 2027, on the eclipse trip page.

Sources

All sources were retrieved on 20 October 2026.

This article summarizes the recommendations of the organizations named above. It does not replace medical or expert advice. The sources and the instructions of your glasses’ manufacturer are what counts.