Annular solar eclipse of January 26, 2028: ten minutes of ring from the Amazon to Spain.
The annular eclipse of January 26, 2028 is the longest ring eclipse of the decade. On the central line over northern Brazil the Moon sits inside the Sun's disc for 10 minutes 27 seconds, leaving a ring of sunlight around it. The path begins at sunrise in the eastern Pacific, crosses Ecuador, Peru, and the Brazilian Amazon in the morning, spends the afternoon over the Atlantic, and ends at sunset over southern Spain and the Balearic Sea. Greatest eclipse is at 15:08 UTC over Amapá, Brazil. This page gives the path, the times, and who sees a partial eclipse.
Where is the path of annularity?
The path is about 323 km wide, unusually broad, because the Moon is close to apogee and its shadow cone is wide where it misses Earth. From the Pacific the central line passes just south of the Galápagos, reaches the South American coast at Tumbes in northern Peru at about 13:38 UTC, crosses southern Ecuador around Loja and Cuenca, re-enters Peru over the Iquitos region, then runs the length of the Brazilian Amazon through Amazonas, Pará, and Amapá, leaving the coast at about 15:10 UTC. After more than an hour and a half over the Atlantic it reaches Madeira and then the Spanish coast at Huelva and Cádiz at about 16:55 UTC, crosses Seville, Córdoba, Albacete, and Valencia, and ends over the Balearic Sea at 16:57 UTC with the Sun on the horizon. Gibraltar, southern Portugal, northern Morocco, and the Balearic Islands lie inside the path.
What time is the eclipse?
Greatest eclipse is at 15:08 UTC with a magnitude of 0.921, the Moon covering 92 percent of the Sun's diameter. Published path tables put the ring at about 07:23 local time in the Galápagos (5 minutes 35 seconds), 08:34 in Loja, Ecuador (8 minutes 38 seconds), 08:46 in Iquitos, Peru (8 minutes 38 seconds), 10:08 in Tefé, Brazil (9 minutes 58 seconds, close to the maximum), and 10:25 in Manaus (7 minutes 13 seconds). On the European end the ring comes at 16:47 WET in Funchal, Madeira (7 minutes 1 second) and at about 17:52 to 18:00 CET across southern Spain, from Seville and Málaga to Valencia, Alicante, Palma, and Ibiza, with the Sun setting during or just after the ring. Gibraltar gets about 4 minutes from 17:54 CET.
Who sees a partial eclipse?
Eastern North America, all of Central and South America, western Europe, and northwestern Africa. In the eastern United States the partial eclipse falls in the late morning: New York and Miami see the Moon cover a modest part of the Sun. In Europe the partial phase is a sunset event visible from Portugal, Spain, France, Britain, and Ireland, with the Sun going down mid eclipse across much of the continent. The Moon is near apogee, so even in the path the sky stays bright.
Why is this ring so long?
Two things stretch it. The Moon reaches apogee on January 28, two days after the eclipse, so its disc is near its smallest and the ring is thick. And the point of greatest eclipse lies almost on the equator near local noon, where the shadow moves across the ground slowest. The same geometry that makes the August 2027 total eclipse long, a slow shadow near the equator, works for annular eclipses too, in reverse: a small Moon over a slow-moving track makes for a long ring. The Moon distance page lists every perigee and apogee for this year and next.
Is it safe to look at an annular eclipse?
No, at no point. The Sun is never fully covered, so certified eclipse glasses or a projection method are required for the entire event, ring included. Even the thin ring at maximum is bright enough to damage the eye in seconds.
What else does 2028 hold?
Six months later, on July 22, 2028, the Moon is near perigee at the same node and a total eclipse crosses Australia and New Zealand, passing over Sydney. On the lunar side, 2028 opens with a shallow partial lunar eclipse on January 12, has a deeper partial on July 6, and closes with a total lunar eclipse on December 31 that is also a Blue Moon. The 2028 full moon calendar has every date.
Quick answers.
What time is the January 26, 2028 eclipse?
Greatest eclipse is at 15:08 UTC over northern Brazil. Ecuador and Peru see the ring in the morning, Brazil around mid morning, Spain at sunset.
How long does the ring last?
Up to 10 minutes 27 seconds on the central line in Brazil, the longest annular eclipse of the 2020s. Spain gets 4 to 7 minutes near sunset.
Can I see it from Europe?
Southern Spain, southern Portugal, Gibraltar, Madeira, and the Balearic Islands are inside the ring path at sunset. The rest of western Europe sees a partial eclipse as the Sun sets.