The total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027, from Tangier, Morocco
Tangier, Morocco: the shadow arrives in Africa, with nearly five minutes of totality.
4 min 51 sec of totality
Tangier, Morocco is inside the path of totality. The Sun is completely covered for 4 min 51 sec, with the Sun 38 degrees above the horizon at maximum.
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Local contact times
All times are for Tangier on Monday, 2 August 2027, in local clock time, computed for latitude 35.767, longitude -5.800 at sea level. A few hundred meters of elevation moves these by well under a second.
| Stage | Local time | UTC | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partial eclipse begins | 08:40:37 GMT+1 | 07:40:37 UTC | The Moon takes the first bite out of the Sun. Filters on. |
| Totality begins | 09:44:44 GMT+1 | 08:44:44 UTC | Filters off once the last bead of sunlight is gone; only then is it safe to look with bare eyes. |
| Maximum eclipse | 09:47:09 GMT+1 | 08:47:09 UTC | The middle of totality, with the Sun 38 degrees above the horizon. |
| Totality ends | 09:49:35 GMT+1 | 08:49:35 UTC | Filters back on by 09:49:25 GMT+1, ten seconds before this, or at the first bead of sunlight if it comes sooner. |
| Partial eclipse ends | 11:00:27 GMT+1 | 10:00:27 UTC | The Sun is whole again. |
- Sun altitude at maximum
- 38 degrees (a bit under halfway up, so an open view toward the east matters)
- Most of the Sun covered
- 100 percent
- Duration of totality
- 4 min 51 sec
- Whole eclipse lasts
- 2 hr 20 min
- Time zone
- Africa/Casablanca
- Coordinates used
- 35.767, -5.800
Which way the shadow moves
The Moon's shadow reaches Tangier from the west and leaves toward the east, crossing at about 4,550 km/h. In the final minute before totality the darkening builds in the west sky, sweeps over, and races off toward the east. CycleCalcs computes this from the local timing gradient around the town.
Eye safety. A certified solar filter (eclipse glasses meeting the ISO 12312-2 standard count; the gear page explains what does) is required for every part of this eclipse except the 4 min 51 sec of totality itself. During totality, and only then, filters come off and the corona is safe to look at with bare eyes. Put them back on ten seconds before the computed end of totality, or at the first bead of sunlight if it comes sooner.
How much room is there
Tangier sits about 111 km from the nearest edge of the path, measured along its own meridian (the perpendicular distance is less), which is comfortable margin.
It is close enough to the center line that a short drive gains little.
Distances are measured due south along this town's meridian. The path runs east here, so the true shortest hop is a little less than these figures: treat them as an upper bound. And on eclipse morning every road toward the center line carries everyone else's identical plan, so be in position early.
What 4 min 51 sec of totality actually is
For 4 min 51 sec the Moon covers the whole of the Sun's disk. Daylight collapses into a deep, strange twilight, the temperature dips, and the corona, the Sun's outer atmosphere, invisible from the ground at any other time, stands out around a black disk. Because the shadow is only a few hundred kilometers wide, the horizon glows with sunset colors in every direction at once. The brighter stars can come out; among the planets, Jupiter stands about twenty degrees from the eclipsed Sun, while Venus, the showpiece of most total eclipses, sits within three degrees of it that morning and stays lost in the glare. Nothing at 99 percent resembles this. A deep partial eclipse dims the day but never reveals the corona, which is why the margin section above matters.
What to expect here
Tangier catches the shadow within a minute of it crossing the Strait, and gets close to five minutes of totality with the Sun still fairly low at about 38 degrees. A low Sun is a real planning constraint here: it means the eastern horizon matters, and it also means the landscape lighting during totality is dramatic in a way a high-Sun eclipse is not.
Climatology favors the morning here: northern Morocco in early August is dry and largely cloud-free, and the eclipse comes before the day heats up. As everywhere on the Strait, a hard levante wind can bring low cloud and haze, so check the wind forecast as well as the sky in the final days.
Frequently asked questions
What time is totality in Tangier?
Totality in Tangier begins at 09:44:44 GMT+1 and ends at 09:49:35 GMT+1 local time, lasting 4 min 51 sec. In UTC, that is 08:44:44 to 08:49:35. CycleCalcs computes these times for latitude 35.767, longitude -5.800.
Is Tangier in the path of totality on August 2, 2027?
Yes. Tangier is inside the path: the Sun is completely covered for 4 min 51 sec, with maximum eclipse at 09:47:09 GMT+1 local time.
Which direction does the eclipse shadow come from in Tangier?
The shadow reaches Tangier from the west and leaves toward the east, crossing at about 4,550 km/h. In the final minute before totality the darkening builds in the west sky.
Can I see the eclipse from my location?
These times hold for Tangier and a few kilometers around it. Totality exists only inside a narrow path, though a partial eclipse covers a far wider region. For any other spot, the CycleCalcs Eclipse Explorer computes local contact times and coverage for coordinates you give it.
Is the eclipse safe for children to watch?
Yes, with the same rules as adults: certified eclipse glasses meeting ISO 12312-2 for every partial phase, and bare eyes only from the last bead of sunlight to ten seconds before the computed end of the 4 min 51 sec of totality. The moments that need an adult's attention are around 09:44:44 GMT+1, when filters come off once the last bead of sunlight is gone, and 09:49:25 GMT+1, ten seconds before the computed end, when they go back on, or sooner at the first bead of sunlight: totality can end a few seconds before the computed time.
Email me as August 2, 2027 approaches
Planning notes for the total solar eclipse of August 2, 2027 as the date comes closer: where the path runs and what to settle before you travel.
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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 smooth-limb times, at the lunar radius NASA's canon adopts for totality. 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.
Benghazi, Libya
6 min 09 sec of totality, Sun 68 degrees up.
Sfax, Tunisia
5 min 39 sec of totality, Sun 56 degrees up.
Tarifa, Spain
4 min 38 sec of totality, Sun 38 degrees up.
Gibraltar
4 min 26 sec of totality, Sun 38 degrees up.
Ceuta
4 min 49 sec of totality, Sun 38 degrees up.
All towns, side by side
Every town on this path in one table, sorted by how long totality lasts.