PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSECape Town, South AfricaSaturday 6 February 2027 · times in UTC+2
2.3%
OF THE SUN COVERED
The Moon clips the edge of the Sun. Nothing about the daylight will change, and you will need a safe solar filter to see anything at all.
The filter stays on the whole time →02 · TIMING
When does it happen?
The whole eclipse runs 51m. All times are local, in UTC+2.
18:32 MAX 18:58 19:22
| Phase | LOCAL TIME | SUN |
|---|---|---|
| First contactthe Moon touches the Sun's edge | 18:32 | 14° W |
| Maximumthe deepest point | 18:58 | 9° WSW |
| Last contactthe Sun is whole again | 19:22 | 4° WSW |
03 · DIRECTION
Where do I look?
At maximum the Sun is just 9° above the horizon to the west. You will need a clear, flat horizon — over water, or from high ground.
The Sun's height and bearing at maximum, from Cape Town. The horizon is at 0°.
THE EXPERIENCE
What it will actually be like
Only 2.3% of the Sun is covered, so nothing about the daylight in Cape Town will change. Through a safe solar filter the Moon shows as a shallow notch on one edge of the disc.
SAFETY
Looking at it without hurting yourself
A certified solar filter stays on for the whole eclipse. The Sun is never completely covered here, and what remains is as dangerous to look at as an uneclipsed Sun. Sunglasses are not a filter.
Sunglasses, smoked glass, exposed film and phone screens are not filters. If you can see anything else through it, it is not dark enough.
04 · POSITION
Should I travel?
The path passes 4,725 km to the north-west of Cape Town and is 282 km wide. Only inside it is the Sun covered completely.
THE DAY
- SUNRISE
- 06:12
- SUNSET
- 19:47
- DAY LENGTH
- 13h 35m
- CIVIL DUSK
- 20:14
REFERENCE FIGURES
- OBSCURATION
- 2.3%
- COORDINATES
- 33.925° S, 18.424° E
- PATH WIDTH
- 282 km
- SHADOW SPEED
- 2,074 km/h
- SAROS
- 131 · no. 46
- MAGNITUDE
- 0.0729
- GAMMA
- -0.2952
Contact times are accurate to a couple of seconds at the coordinates above. Altitudes are geometric — unrefracted, on the WGS 84 ellipsoid.
NEXT FROM CAPE TOWN
What else is coming here?
The rest of what the sky over Cape Town has coming, soonest first.