The next solar eclipses visible from the Canary Islands
The partial eclipse of 12 August 2026 has come and gone. If you missed it, because of cloud, because you were working, or simply because you could not get hold of a pair of glasses in time, there are two more chances, and both will be visible from the Canary Islands.
2 August 2027: a total eclipse, partial from here
Totality is confined to the area around the Strait of Gibraltar, so from the islands the eclipse will be partial. It will still be a deep one: according to the Instituto Geográfico Nacional, the maximum obscuration will be at least 70 % at any point in Spanish territory, from the northernmost areas all the way to the Canary Islands.
Here the maximum falls in the middle of the morning, with the Sun already high. It is the easier of the two: no need to hunt for a clear horizon.
26 January 2028: an annular eclipse, also partial from here
This one is a different animal. The band of annularity, where the ring of Sun appears around the Moon, covers roughly the south-eastern half of mainland Spain. From the rest of the country, the islands included, the eclipse will be partial only.
Here the maximum comes late in the afternoon, with the Sun low. That changes the preparation: you will want a spot with a clear horizon to the west.
What does not change from one eclipse to the next
You never look straight at the Sun. The IGN puts it without hedging: the Sun should never be observed directly, neither with instruments nor with filters nor with the naked eye.
Sunglasses do not work, however dark they are; the IGN lists them among the homemade filters that are entirely inadvisable, alongside X-ray film and smoked glass. And with an instrument the damage can be instant and irreversible, because cameras, binoculars and telescopes concentrate light exactly as a magnifying glass does.
What we will add to this guide
This page will fill out as the dates approach. What is still missing, and will follow:
The exact start, maximum and end times for each island.
The best viewing spots, with access and orientation.
Where to buy certified eclipse glasses ahead of each date.
A guide of its own for each of the two eclipses, because they differ and each calls for its own preparation.
Data source: Instituto Geográfico Nacional, eclipses.ign.es.
Cover photo: Khoule23, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.