Total solar eclipse
in Ceuta

Monday 2 August 2027. In southern Spain totality happens between 10:44 and 10:52 in the morning, local time (CEST, UTC+2). The partial phase begins about an hour earlier and ends a little over an hour later.

Across all of Ceuta and Melilla, and in 115 municipalities in Andalusia: 58 in Malaga, 31 in Cadiz, 16 in Granada and 10 in Almeria. Cadiz and Malaga are the only provincial capitals inside the path of totality. Gibraltar is also inside the path.

Ceuta, with around 4 minutes 48 seconds of totality, is the longest in Spanish territory. On the mainland the best area is the Campo de Gibraltar: Algeciras gets close to four and a half minutes, and Tarifa gets over four and a half with an open sea horizon. Gibraltar itself sees about 4 minutes 27 seconds.

It depends on how close you are to the centre of the path. It ranges from almost 4 minutes 50 seconds in Ceuta down to just over a minute in edge towns. Malaga city, near the northern limit, gets under two minutes. Outside the path there is no totality at all, only a partial eclipse.

Yes. Throughout the entire partial phase you must use eclipse glasses certified to ISO 12312-2. You can only take them off during the exact minutes of totality, when the solar disc is completely covered, and you must put them back on the instant the first flash of Sun reappears.

Exceptionally good. It is one of the longest total eclipses of the 21st century, the Sun sits high in the sky at around 40°, and early August in southern Spain and North Africa is one of the most reliably cloud-free combinations of date and place anywhere on the planet. Logistics in Spain are straightforward, which is not always the case for long eclipses.

After 2027 there is an annular eclipse on 26 January 2028, where the Sun becomes a ring of light, but the next total solar eclipse visible from mainland Spain is not until 2053.

Yes. The eclipse falls in the middle of August, when the Spanish coast is already at peak season, and the path of totality is narrow. In recent eclipses elsewhere, accommodation inside the path sold out more than a year ahead and prices multiplied several times over.

Between 37° and 41° above the horizon depending on where you are, which is comfortably high. That is a real advantage: you do not need a clear horizon towards the Sun, so almost any spot without a building directly overhead will work. What does help is a wide view all around, because during totality the horizon glows in all 360°.

East-southeast, with the Sun at roughly 95° azimuth and fairly high up. At mid-morning in August the Sun sits in that part of the sky, so face towards sunrise and look up.