Eclipse calendar 2026-2028
Every eclipse of the Sun and Moon from 2026 through 2028: 6 solar and 8 lunar. Each one links to its own page with exact times, visibility maps in prose, and a calculator that tells you precisely what you will see from your own coordinates. For any other date, past or future, our Eclipse Explorer computes eclipses on demand.
| Date (UTC) | Eclipse | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| February 17, 2026 | Annular solar | The ring of fire was visible only from Antarctica. |
| March 3, 2026 | Total lunar | East Asia, Australia and the Pacific saw the whole eclipse; western North America caught totality before dawn, while for eastern North America the Moon set while still eclipsed. |
| August 12, 2026 | Total solar | Totality crosses Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain. |
| August 28, 2026 | Partial lunar | The Americas catch the eclipse on the evening of August 27 local time; Europe and Africa see it before dawn on August 28, while farther east the Moon sets with the eclipse still in progress. |
| February 6, 2027 | Annular solar | The ring of fire crosses southern Chile and Argentina, then the South Atlantic, ending near the coast of West Africa at sunset. |
| February 20, 2027 | Penumbral lunar | The night side of Earth facing the Moon sees it, centered on the Americas. |
| July 18, 2027 | Penumbral lunar | The night side of Earth facing the Moon sees it, centered on the Indian Ocean, Asia and Australia. |
| August 2, 2027 | Total solar | Totality crosses southern Spain and Gibraltar, northern Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, central Egypt including Luxor, then southwestern Saudi Arabia and Yemen. |
| August 17, 2027 | Penumbral lunar | The night side of Earth facing the Moon sees it, centered on the Pacific. |
| January 12, 2028 | Partial lunar | The Americas see the eclipse in the late evening of January 11 local time; Europe and West Africa see it before dawn on January 12. |
| January 26, 2028 | Annular solar | The ring of fire crosses Ecuador, northern Peru, southern Colombia, northern Brazil, French Guiana and Suriname, then the Atlantic, reaching Madeira, southern Portugal, southern Spain and northern Morocco near sunset. |
| July 6, 2028 | Partial lunar | Best from Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia; the Americas largely miss it. |
| July 22, 2028 | Total solar | Totality crosses northwestern and central Australia, passes directly over Sydney, then crosses the Tasman Sea to the South Island of New Zealand. |
| December 31, 2028 | Total lunar | Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia all see the eclipse on the night of December 31; the Americas largely miss it. |
How to read this calendar
Solar eclipses come in three kinds. In a total eclipse the Moon covers the whole Sun along a narrow path, and for those minutes you can look with the naked eye at the corona. In an annular eclipse the Moon sits too far away to cover the Sun fully, leaving a ring of fire that demands eye protection from start to finish. A partial eclipse, seen from outside those narrow paths, takes a bite out of the Sun.
Lunar eclipses grade from total (the full Moon turns copper red inside Earth's shadow, visible from the whole night side of Earth) through partial (a dark bite) down to penumbral, which we list for completeness but flag honestly: the shading is usually too subtle to notice.
Eclipses cluster in two seasons a year and repeat in 18-year Saros families; our Saros cycle profile explains why, and the eclipse explainer builds the whole geometry from scratch.
Frequently asked questions
How often do eclipses happen?
Every year has between four and seven eclipses, always in two (occasionally three) eclipse seasons about six months apart, when the full or new Moon lines up near a lunar node. Most are partial or penumbral; a total solar eclipse touches any given spot on Earth only about once every 375 years on average.
When is the next total solar eclipse?
The next total solar eclipses on this calendar: August 12, 2026 (Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain), August 2, 2027 (North Africa and the Middle East, with the longest totality on land since 1991), and July 22, 2028 (Australia, including Sydney, and New Zealand).
Why do some rows say penumbral?
A penumbral lunar eclipse means the Moon crosses only the pale outer fringe of Earth's shadow. The dimming is real but so slight that most people would never notice it. We list them because they belong to the same eclipse seasons and Saros series as the dramatic events, and we say plainly that they are not worth planning a night around.
Do I need eye protection to watch an eclipse?
For any solar eclipse, yes: ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses or a projection method for every partial phase, with the sole exception of the minutes of totality inside a total eclipse path. Lunar eclipses are just the Moon in Earth's shadow and are completely safe to watch unaided.