Will I see the 2027 solar eclipse in Marsa Alam?
Yes, totality
The Moon covers the Sun completely for 5 min 30 s, from 13:08:00 to 13:13:30 local time. The Sun will be 81° up in the south-west.
Minute by minute
Local time in Marsa Alam (EEST). The light fades for over an hour before totality; the last minutes go fast.
- 11:45:51StartsThe Moon touches the Sun
- 13:08:00TotalityDarkness, corona, stars
- 13:10:45Mid-totality
- 13:13:30Totality endsGlasses back on
- 14:31:05EndsThe Sun is whole again
Will the Sun be clear at 13:10?
A clear view is very likely. Around 13:10 from 21 July to 14 August, the sky over Marsa Alam is on average 88% free of cloud: roughly the chance that the Sun is clear when the eclipse peaks.
2 August around 13:10, every year since 2001
- 012001: clear
- 022002: clear
- 032003: clear
- 042004: clear
- 052005: clear
- 062006: some cloud
- 072007: clear
- 082008: clear
- 092009: clear
- 102010: clear
- 112011: some cloud
- 122012: clear
- 132013: clear
- 142014: clear
- 152015: clear
- 162016: clear
- 172017: clear
- 182018: clear
- 192019: clear
- 202020: clear
- 212021: clear
- 222022: some cloud
- 232023: clear
- 242024: some cloud
- 252025: clear
Clear or nearly clear in 21 of 25 years on the day itself (NASA POWER). One day is luck; the 88% above averages every day from 21 July to 14 August. How: NASA POWER hourly cloud data (2001–2025), corrected to match the weather reports of the 66 airports we checked (NOAA ISD, 2006–2025); NASA alone was up to 20 points too sunny along the Strait of Gibraltar. A real forecast exists about a week before: we'll add it here.
Staying in Marsa Alam
Rooms in the path go first: book now with free cancellation, then check the forecast a week before. If clouds threaten, a car lets you move along the path.
Keep your eyes safe
Look at the Sun only through eclipse glasses or a solar viewer made to ISO 12312-2. Sunglasses are not enough, even at 99%.
Once the last bead of sunlight disappears, take the glasses off and look. Put them back on the moment the Sun's edge reappears.
Never point binoculars, a telescope or a camera lens at the partial Sun without a solar filter on the front.
Marsa Alam eclipse: questions
It starts at 11:45 and ends at 14:31 local time (EEST). Totality runs from 13:08:00 to 13:13:30.
5 min 30 s. Marsa Alam is inside the path; nearby towns closer to the centre line get a little longer.
Nobody can know that until about a week before. From history: around 13:10 in late July and early August, the sky over Marsa Alam is on average 88% free of cloud, so roughly a 88% chance that the Sun is clear when the eclipse peaks. That is NASA satellite-based cloud data corrected with nearby airports' weather reports.
The Sun will be 81° above the horizon in the south-west, so pick a spot with an open view that way: a beach, a rooftop terrace or a hill. At that height buildings rarely get in the way.
Yes, for everything except totality itself. Use glasses or viewers made to ISO 12312-2. During the 5 min 30 s of totality you can look without them.