When are Spain's next solar eclipses after August 2026?
Last updated 2026-08-02
Spain gets a second total solar eclipse on 2 August 2027, crossing Cádiz and Málaga at about 10:50 local time with 2 minutes 54 seconds of totality in Cádiz. An annular eclipse follows on 26 January 2028 over Spain and Portugal. Before 2026, the last mainland totality was 1905.
Three solar eclipses reach Spain inside eighteen months, which is a run without precedent in living memory. The country waited 121 years for the first of them. The three are genuinely different events, and confusing them leads to bad decisions: one happens at sunset, one mid morning, and the third never reaches totality at all.
What happens on 2 August 2027?
A total solar eclipse crosses the Strait of Gibraltar from west to east at about 10:50 local time. The band covers nearly all of Cádiz province, part of Málaga, the southernmost areas of Granada and Almería, and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Cádiz gets 2 minutes 54 seconds of totality.
Málaga sits closer to the edge and gets 1 minute 48 seconds from about 10:48. Both are longer than anything the mainland manages in 2026, where the best corridor tops out near 104 seconds. The track continues east across North Africa toward Egypt, where durations exceed six minutes and where the event has attracted most of the international attention.
Why is the 2027 eclipse easier to watch?
The Sun sits high in the sky. A mid morning eclipse removes the two problems that dominate planning for 2026: the horizon obstruction that a 2 to 12 degree Sun creates, and the sunset that cuts the closing partial phase short across most of the country. Totality also lasts roughly twice as long.
Andalusian weather in early August is a further advantage. The southern half of the peninsula holds the most reliable August skies in Spain, which is precisely the region that gets nothing but a partial eclipse in 2026. In 2027 the geography and the climatology finally point the same way.
None of that makes 2026 skippable. Weather takes eclipses away from people who did everything right, and the 2027 track is narrow and heavily oversubscribed already. Two chances are better than one.
What is different about the 2028 annular eclipse?
On 26 January 2028 the Moon is too far from Earth to cover the solar disc, so a bright ring of photosphere remains visible at maximum. That ring is direct sunlight. Certified filters stay on for every second of the event, and the corona never becomes visible at any point.
Annular eclipses are worth seeing and they are not substitutes for a total one. The ring of fire is striking, the light goes strange, and none of the phenomena that make totality remarkable occur: no corona, no visible planets, no horizon glow, no safe naked eye moment. The 2028 track crosses South America before reaching Portugal and Spain.
Should you wait for 2027 instead of chasing 2026?
No, unless travelling in the next ten days is genuinely impractical. The 2027 eclipse is longer and better placed, and it is also a year away and subject to the same weather lottery. The reasonable plan treats 12 August 2026 as the first attempt rather than the only one.
There is a practical argument too. Everything you learn on 12 August, about filters, about scouting a horizon, about how fast third contact arrives, transfers directly to 2027. First eclipses are frequently spent fumbling. Better to fumble the one that is ten days away and arrive at Cádiz knowing what you are doing.
Eclipse already carries the 2 August 2027 eclipse offline alongside 2026, and rolls over to it on its own once the first one has passed.
Key takeaways
- 2 August 2027 brings a total eclipse to Cádiz, Málaga, Ceuta and Melilla at about 10:50 local time.
- Cádiz gets 2 minutes 54 seconds of totality and Málaga 1 minute 48 seconds, both far longer than 2026 offers.
- The 2027 Sun is high in the sky, which removes the horizon and sunset problems that dominate 2026 planning.
- 26 January 2028 is annular, not total. A ring of photosphere remains, so filters stay on and no corona appears.
- Spain's previous mainland total solar eclipse was on 30 August 1905, 121 years before this one.
Frequently asked questions
When is the next total solar eclipse in Spain after 2026?
2 August 2027, almost exactly a year later. The band crosses the Strait of Gibraltar from west to east, covering nearly all of Cádiz province, part of Málaga, the southernmost areas of Granada and Almería, and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
How long does totality last in Cádiz in 2027?
2 minutes and 54 seconds in Cádiz, starting at about 10:45 local time. Málaga gets 1 minute and 48 seconds from about 10:48. Both figures are considerably longer than anywhere in Spain manages on 12 August 2026, where the mainland maximum is around 104 seconds.
Is the January 2028 eclipse a total eclipse?
No. The 26 January 2028 event is annular, so the Moon is too far from Earth to cover the disc completely and leaves a bright ring. The corona never appears and certified filters must stay on throughout. It crosses South America, Portugal and Spain.
Should I skip 2026 and wait for the 2027 eclipse instead?
Only if travelling in 2026 is genuinely difficult for you. The 2027 eclipse is longer and higher in the sky, but weather and circumstance can take any single eclipse away. Two attempts beat one, and 2026 is already in the country you are standing in.