The stops
- On 2 August 2027 the Moon passes exactly between the Sun and the Earth. Its shadow falls on the Earth as a dark spot a few hundred kilometres wide and races across it from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean in about three hours. Everyone inside this band sees the Sun disappear: a total eclipse.
- The shadow touches the Earth over the Atlantic, crosses the Strait of Gibraltar and the southern tip of Spain, then runs along North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
- Near Luxor, in Egypt, the Sun stays hidden for about 6 minutes 23 seconds, one of the longest total eclipses of the century. The Moon is near its closest to the Earth, so it looks big; the Earth is near its furthest from the Sun, so the Sun looks small; and the shadow falls near noon, close to the Equator, where the turning ground keeps pace with it.
- Then it crosses the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia and Yemen, touches Somalia, and leaves the Earth over the Indian Ocean. Outside the band, across Europe, Africa and Asia, people see a partial eclipse: a bite out of the Sun.
- From the space station the shadow looks like a dark smudge sliding across the Earth, faster than any aircraft. Watch it from orbit.
Next
Is the Sun ever straight overhead? Why it never is in London, and why that isn't why the sky is grey.