Solar Eclipses in Africa: 2024-2030 Guide and Historical Maps

Explore More Content

📁 African facts 📁 time

Popular in This Category

View all African facts posts →

Solar Eclipses in Africa: Complete Guide 2024-2030

Upcoming Solar Eclipses Visible from Africa (2024-2030)

Upcoming African Solar Eclipses

🔭 October 2, 2024 - Annular Solar Eclipse

Visible in: Southern Chile, Argentina, Easter Island • Partial eclipse visible in southern Africa

🔭 August 2, 2027 - Total Solar Eclipse

Major African visibility: The path of totality crosses Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt • Partial eclipse visible across entire continent

🔭 January 26, 2028 - Annular Solar Eclipse

Visible in: Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, French Guiana, Portugal, Morocco • Partial eclipse visible in West Africa

🔭 June 1, 2030 - Annular Solar Eclipse

African path: The annular path crosses Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia

🔭 November 25, 2030 - Total Solar Eclipse

Southern Africa visibility: The path of totality crosses Namibia, Botswana, South Africa

📖 Historical Eclipse: August 21, 2017

Notable African viewing: West African Cape Verde experienced a nearly 85% total Solar Eclipse during this event.

Africa 2017 Eclipse Map (Historical Reference)

For the August 21, 2017 total Solar Eclipse, the map shows where the partial solar eclipse was visible in Africa. Partial eclipse occurred in North and West Africa with Cape Verde experiencing a nearly 85% total Solar Eclipse. Cabo Verde (formally known as Cape Verde until 2013) is a group of 18 U-shaped islands located off mainland Western Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.

Solar Eclipse Facts

Most calendar years have two solar eclipses. The maximum number of solar eclipses that can take place in the same year is five, but this is rare.
According to NASA calculations, only about 25 years in the past 5,000 years have had five solar eclipses. The last time this happened was in 1935, and the next time will be in 2206.

There are three main types of solar eclipses:

• Total solar eclipses - Moon completely covers the Sun
• Partial solar eclipses - Moon partially covers the Sun
• Annular eclipses - "Ring of fire" when Moon is too far to completely cover Sun
• Hybrid eclipses - Shifts between total and annular along its path

When Does a Solar Eclipse Occur?

Solar eclipses can only happen around New Moon because of the alignment of Earth, the Moon, and the Sun, which happens at that time. However, this does not mean that eclipses of the Sun happen every New Moon night.
The New Moon and the Sun also have to be near a lunar node, which happens a little less than 6 months apart, and lasts, on average, around 34.5 days. This period is called the eclipse season, and it is the only time that eclipses take place.

Eclipse Viewing Safety

Never look directly at the Sun without proper eye protection. Use ISO-certified solar viewing glasses or indirect viewing methods to safely observe solar eclipses.