The total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027, from Marsa Matruh, Egypt

Marsa Matruh, Egypt: a deep partial eclipse on the Mediterranean coast, outside the path.

No totality here

Marsa Matruh, Egypt is outside the path of totality. At maximum, about 97 percent of the Sun is covered and a sliver stays visible the whole time. The corona does not appear, the sky does not go dark, and eye protection must stay on for every minute of it.

Planning to stand here? Your Eclipse Day computes this morning to the second for your exact coordinates, as a printable plan, a pocket field card and a calendar file with alarms.

Local contact times

All times are for Marsá Maţrūḩ on Monday, 2 August 2027, in local clock time, computed for latitude 31.353, longitude 27.237 at sea level. A few hundred metres of elevation moves these by well under a second.

Stage	Local time	UTC	What happens
Partial eclipse begins	11:24:06 GMT+3	08:24:06 UTC	The Moon takes the first bite out of the Sun. Filters on.
Maximum eclipse	12:46:03 GMT+3	09:46:03 UTC	The deepest point, with 97 percent of the Sun covered. Filters stay on.
Partial eclipse ends	14:07:17 GMT+3	11:07:17 UTC	The Sun is whole again.

Sun altitude at maximum: 75 degrees (high in the sky)
Most of the Sun covered: about 97 percent
Duration of totality: none
Whole eclipse lasts: 2 hr 43 min
Time zone: Africa/Cairo
Coordinates used: 31.353, 27.237

Which way the shadow moves

The Moon's shadow reaches Marsá Maţrūḩ from the northwest and leaves toward the southeast, crossing at about 2,500 km/h. The deepest shading arrives from the northwest and passes toward the southeast; from here the eclipse stays partial throughout. CycleCalcs computes this from the local timing gradient around the town.

Eye safety. There is no moment during this eclipse when it is safe to look at the Sun without a certified solar filter (eclipse glasses meeting the ISO 12312-2 standard count; the gear page explains what does). Marsá Maţrūḩ never reaches totality, so a sliver of the photosphere is visible throughout, and that sliver is as damaging as the whole Sun.

How far to real totality

The edge of the path is about 112 km south of Marsá Maţrūḩ, measured along its meridian. Reaching the edge is not the goal, though: totality there lasts seconds. Going further is what buys the experience.

122 km south: 2 min 20 sec of totality
147 km south: 4 min 07 sec of totality
197 km south: 5 min 47 sec of totality

Distances are measured due south along this town's meridian. The path runs southeast here, so the true shortest hop is a little less: treat these as an upper bound, and plan the drive on real roads rather than a straight line. On eclipse morning every road toward the path carries everyone else's identical plan, so be in position early.

What to expect here

Marsa Matruh is well north of the path and sees about 97 percent of the Sun covered. That is a striking partial eclipse and not remotely a total one: at 97 percent the daylight dims oddly and the temperature drops, but the Sun stays too bright to look at and the corona never appears. The distances to real totality are in the section above, and they are substantial from here.

August on this coast is dry and overwhelmingly sunny; a little morning haze over the Mediterranean is the worst that climatology suggests.

Frequently asked questions

Is Marsá Maţrūḩ in the path of totality on August 2, 2027?

No. Marsá Maţrūḩ is outside the path: about 97 percent of the Sun is covered at maximum and a sliver always remains, so filters stay on for the entire eclipse and the corona never appears.

What time is maximum eclipse in Marsá Maţrūḩ?

Maximum eclipse in Marsá Maţrūḩ comes at 12:46:03 GMT+3 local time (09:46:03 UTC), with about 97 percent of the Sun covered. CycleCalcs computes these times for latitude 31.353, longitude 27.237.

How far is Marsá Maţrūḩ from totality?

The nearest edge of the path of totality is about 112 km south of Marsá Maţrūḩ, and about 197 km south reaches 5 min 47 sec of totality. The section above has the full distances.

Which direction does the eclipse shadow come from in Marsá Maţrūḩ?

The shadow sweeps past Marsá Maţrūḩ from the northwest toward the southeast at about 2,500 km/h; from here the eclipse stays partial throughout.

Is the eclipse safe for children to watch?

Yes, provided filters stay on for every minute of it: in Marsá Maţrūḩ the Sun is never fully covered, so certified eclipse glasses meeting ISO 12312-2 stay on throughout, for adults and children alike.

Take August 2, 2027 with you

The next total solar eclipse crosses southern Spain, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula on August 2, 2027. Put every eclipse in your calendar app with one free feed, or leave an address for an occasional note as the date approaches.

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Checking another location

This page is computed for one set of coordinates. For anywhere else, including a specific hotel, a viewpoint or a spot out on the path, the Eclipse Explorer computes local contact times and how much of the Sun is covered for any location you give it, and the main page for this eclipse carries the global circumstances, the Saros series and the shape of the path.

These are mean-limb times. The Moon's edge is mountainous, so the exact instants totality begins and ends shift by a second or two depending on which lunar valley the last sliver of Sun drains through. That correction is smaller than the difference a short drive makes, and smaller than the error in standing somewhere other than these exact coordinates. Every figure here is a computed fact you may reuse freely; see how these were computed.

The same eclipse from other towns

Every town below is computed the same way, so the durations are directly comparable.