Is an Eclipse the Same Time Everywhere?

The eclipse is a single astronomical event, but people do not see it at the same local clock time, and they do not all see the same stage at once. The Moon’s shadow travels across Earth, reaching different longitudes at different moments, while local clocks display different time zones.

UTC provides one stable reference for the global event, while the correct local time depends on the observer’s city, coordinates and applicable time zone. Local civil times for distant future eclipses could also change if a government changes its daylight-saving or time-zone laws before the eclipse occurs.

Why the Exact Path of Totality Matters

A total solar eclipse is total only within the Moon’s narrow central shadow, known as the path of totality. A person standing inside that path can see the Sun become completely covered, while somebody only a short distance beyond its boundary may see an extremely deep partial eclipse without ever reaching totality.

That difference is enormous. Even 99% coverage is still a partial solar eclipse, because the remaining sliver of direct sunlight keeps the sky much brighter and prevents the observer from experiencing the darkened sky, visible solar corona and sudden transformation that occur during totality.

Country names are therefore only a starting point. City names are more useful, but even they are not perfect when a city is divided by the edge of the path. Anyone planning eclipse travel should check the exact coordinates of the intended viewing location rather than assuming that every neighbourhood, road or nearby town shares the same circumstances.

Total Solar Eclipses 2027–2035

Total Solar Eclipse of 2 August 2027

Global maximum: 10:06:40 UTC
Maximum duration of totality: Approximately 6 minutes 23 seconds
General visibility: Europe, Africa, western and southern Asia, the Middle East, the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean
Totality: Parts of southern Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, Somalia and parts of the Indian Ocean

Where Totality Will Be Visible in Spain

The eclipse will not be total throughout Spain. The path crosses:

• Almost all of Cádiz Province
• A large part of Málaga Province
• The southernmost part of Granada Province
• The southernmost part of Almería Province
• Ceuta
• Melilla

Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and most locations in central and northern Spain will experience a partial eclipse rather than totality.

Selected Local Totality Times in Spain and Gibraltar

Location	Totality begins	Totality ends	Approximate duration
Tarifa, Spain	10:45:05	10:49:44	4m 39s
Cádiz, Spain	10:45:29	10:48:25	2m 56s
Ceuta, Spain	10:45:26	10:50:15	4m 49s
Gibraltar	10:45:39	10:50:07	4m 28s
Marbella, Spain	10:46:53	10:50:14	3m 21s
Málaga, Spain	10:48:12	10:50:09	1m 57s
Melilla, Spain	10:48:19	10:52:53	4m 34s

The times above are local civil times.

Detailed Totality Route

• Spain: Cádiz, Tarifa, Marbella, Málaga, parts of southern Granada and Almería, Ceuta and Melilla
• Gibraltar: Gibraltar lies inside or extremely close to the totality corridor
• Morocco: Tangier, Tétouan, Oujda, Nador and other locations along the northern corridor; Casablanca receives a partial eclipse
• Algeria: Oran, Tlemcen, M’Sila and areas crossed by the central shadow; Algiers receives a deep partial eclipse
• Tunisia: Kasserine, Gafsa, Kairouan, Gabès, Sfax, Mahdia, Houmt Souk on Djerba and Zarzis; Tunis receives a partial eclipse
• Libya: Benghazi and other locations along the path; central Tripoli receives a partial eclipse
• Egypt: Siwa Oasis, Asyut, Sohag, Qena and Luxor; Cairo receives a partial eclipse
• Sudan: The shadow crosses an extreme northeastern area; Khartoum receives a partial eclipse
• Saudi Arabia: Jeddah, Mecca, Ta’if and Khamis Mushait are among the cities inside totality; Medina and Riyadh receive partial coverage
• Yemen: Sana’a and other areas along the totality path; Aden receives a partial eclipse
• Somalia: Bosaso and parts of northeastern Somalia; Garowe and Berbera receive partial coverage
• British Indian Ocean Territory: Some northern islands enter totality, while Diego Garcia receives a partial eclipse

Additional Local Totality Examples

Location	Totality begins	Totality ends
Tangier, Morocco	09:44:47	09:49:38
Oran, Algeria	09:51:03	09:56:11
Sfax, Tunisia	10:08:46	10:14:26
Benghazi, Libya	11:27:51	11:34:00
Luxor, Egypt	13:02:02	13:08:23
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	13:22:16	13:28:16
Sana’a, Yemen	13:44:11	13:46:32
Bosaso, Somalia	13:58:08	14:02:10

These examples use each location’s local civil time, which is why the clock advances considerably as the shadow travels eastward.

Total Solar Eclipse of 22 July 2028

Global maximum: 02:55:29 UTC
Maximum duration of totality: Approximately 5 minutes 10 seconds
General visibility: Southern Asia, the Indian Ocean, Australia, the Pacific, New Zealand and parts of Antarctica
Totality: The Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, parts of Australia and parts of New Zealand

Detailed Path Through Australia

The totality corridor crosses several separate parts of Australia, but it is not visible as a total eclipse from every Australian state or city.

• Cocos Islands: Bantam and West Island
• Christmas Island: The Settlement and Flying Fish Cove
• Western Australia: The Kimberley region, including areas around Wyndham, Kununurra, the Durack Range and Lake Argyle
• Northern Territory: Tennant Creek and nearby areas
• Southwestern Queensland: Areas around Bedourie and Birdsville
• New South Wales: Bourke, Nyngan, Dubbo, Orange, Mudgee, Bathurst, Katoomba, Penrith, Campbelltown, Blacktown, parts of Sydney, Wollongong, Kiama, Gosford and Norah Head
• New Zealand: Queenstown, Ranfurly, Dunedin and surrounding parts of the southern South Island

Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Auckland and Wellington are outside the totality corridor and will experience a partial eclipse.

Selected Local Totality Times

Location	Totality begins	Totality ends	Local time zone
Bantam, Cocos Islands	08:12:03	08:15:34	CCT
Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island	08:54:49	08:58:42	CXT
Kununurra, Western Australia	10:59:46	11:02:40	AWST
Tennant Creek, Northern Territory	12:47:58	12:51:24	ACST
Bedourie, Queensland	13:34:24	13:38:55	AEST
Bourke, New South Wales	13:50:11	13:54:16	AEST
Dubbo, New South Wales	13:55:23	13:59:13	AEST
Sydney, New South Wales	13:59:33	14:03:22	AEST
Wollongong, New South Wales	13:59:42	14:02:33	AEST
Queenstown, New Zealand	16:15:07	16:18:01	NZST
Dunedin, New Zealand	16:15:48	16:18:39	NZST

Sydney is inside the path, but that does not mean that every part of greater Sydney will receive an identical duration. Observers near a path boundary will experience less totality than observers closer to the central line.

Total Solar Eclipse of 25 November 2030

Global maximum: 06:50:27 UTC
Maximum duration of totality: Approximately 3 minutes 44 seconds
General visibility: Southern and eastern Africa, the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Australia, the Pacific and Antarctica
Totality: Parts of Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Australia

African Path of Totality

• Namibia: Windhoek and parts of inland Namibia lie inside the corridor; Swakopmund and Walvis Bay receive a partial eclipse
• Botswana: The path crosses southern Botswana around Tsabong; Gaborone receives a partial eclipse
• South Africa: Schweizer-Reneke, Phuthaditjhaba, Pietermaritzburg, Durban and parts of KwaZulu-Natal experience totality
• Nearby partial-eclipse cities: Johannesburg, Mbabane, Maputo and Maseru remain outside totality