January 26, 2028 eclipse guide
The Moon's antumbral shadow races from the Galápagos across the Amazon rainforest and the Atlantic, ending as a dramatic sunset ring of fire over southern Spain and Portugal — with up to 10 minutes 27 seconds of annularity, among the longest of the century.
Facts cross-checked against NASA GSFC (Espenak), timeanddate, and AAS safety guidance.
Am I in the ring's path?
Start with the path map, then verify your exact pin before booking.
Jump to sectionI am planning the Amazon
Brazil's Amapá rainforest holds the single longest ring on the entire path.
Jump to sectionI am watching from Spain or Portugal
A rare sunset ring reaches Iberia — but glasses stay on the whole time.
Jump to sectionI am watching with a group
Use the safety rules and checklist for kids, schools, and events.
Jump to sectionI want the science
Understand the antumbra, Saros 141, and why the Moon leaves a ring instead of blacking out the Sun.
Jump to sectionWhy it matters
Unlike a total eclipse, an annular eclipse never fully blacks out the Sun — a bright ring survives even at maximum. In 2028 that ring races from the Galápagos across the Amazon rainforest and the Atlantic before ending as a sunset spectacle over Spain and Portugal, with its longest duration of the century tucked into remote, roadless rainforest.
Near-maximum ring duration
At up to 10 minutes 30.6 seconds in Brazil's Amapá state, this is among the longest annular eclipses possible in the 21st century — close to the practical limit for this kind of eclipse.
No corona, ever
Because a sliver of the photosphere always remains exposed, the faint solar corona never appears during an annular eclipse — that is reserved for a total eclipse.
Glasses never come off
There is no equivalent of totality's brief unfiltered window. Certified viewers stay on for every second of every phase, on the centerline or off it.
One path, two very different climates
The Amazon leg sits in its rainy season; the Iberian leg lands at sunset in the dry Spanish winter. Weather planning looks completely different depending on where you go.
Path and timing
Global eclipse tables are useful for orientation, but they are not a local observing plan. Use a map for your exact pin and remember that published calculations can differ by a few seconds because of delta-T assumptions, ephemerides, and lunar limb treatment.
2028 Jan 26 · NASA orthographic path
Eclipse predictions: Fred Espenak, NASA’s GSFC. Orthographic visibility maps from NASA’s Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses.
Global UTC stages
These are global milestones, not the times for one city. Each row happens at a different place along the eclipse track.
Where to go
The path is a roughly 14,000-kilometre corridor from the equatorial Pacific to the Atlantic coast of Iberia. Duration and sun altitude vary enormously along it — the best site is the one where geometry, access, weather, and safety all work together.
Where the ring begins
Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz sees about 5 minutes 40 seconds of annularity at 07:24 local time, with the morning sun still low over the Pacific. Darwin's living laboratory — giant tortoises, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies — dims into an eerie equatorial twilight while a perfect ring hangs over the ocean.
Book early: inter-island flights and lodging are limited even without eclipse demand.
A rainforest ring near the center line
Iquitos — the world's largest city with no road access, reachable only by river or air — sees about 8 minutes 38 seconds of annularity at 08:50 local time, one of the longest urban ring durations of the century. The dawn rainforest chorus reacts to the strange mid-morning dimming as the ring forms over the canopy.
River boats on the Amazon and Itaya give the widest, most open sightlines.
Record-length annularity
Deep in the rainforest of Amapá state, near the French Guiana border, the ring holds for about 10 minutes 30.6 seconds — one of the longest annular durations possible anywhere on Earth this century. Manaus, farther upstream at the famous Meeting of the Waters, still gets about 7 minutes 14 seconds with the sun 60° high.
The point of longest duration is remote, roadless forest — Manaus or an organized river trip is the realistic base.
Greatest eclipse falls just offshore
Camopi, a remote Amerindian commune on the Oyapock river, sees about 9 minutes 26 seconds of ring with the sun 66° high — deep inside French, and therefore European Union, territory. Greatest eclipse itself — the instant the shadow axis passes closest to Earth's centre — falls a short distance offshore in the Atlantic.
Cayenne sits just north of the path with a deep 84% partial only; the full ring needs a trip toward the interior.
The ring returns to the Old World
After nearly three hours crossing the open Atlantic, the ring reaches Madeira: Funchal sees about 7 minutes of annularity at 16:50 local time with the sun a comfortable 18° above the ocean — the easiest sun angle of the entire European leg.
A south-facing hillside with a clean west-southwest horizon works best.
A sunset ring of fire over Europe
Seville sees about 7 minutes 15 seconds of ring at 17:56 local time with the sun just 7° above the horizon, and Valencia's ring ends only 2° over the sea — the ring of fire setting almost as it forms. The Algarve's Faro gets a similarly low, golden-hour ring over its lagoons and beaches.
Height and a clean west-southwest horizon matter more here than almost anywhere else on the path.
Still worth planning
Across most of South and Central America, the Caribbean, the eastern United States, West Africa, and western Europe, viewers will see a deep partial eclipse without ever seeing the ring. Madrid, just north of the path, still gets about 82% coverage at sunset.
Certified viewers stay on for the entire event — there is no ring-related safe moment outside the path.
Amazon deep dive
Greatest eclipse — the instant the Moon's shadow axis passes closest to Earth's centre — occurs at 15:07:46 UTC just offshore from French Guiana and Brazil, with a 323 km-wide path and 10 minutes 27 seconds of annularity. A short distance inland, in Brazil's Amapá state, the ring actually holds even longer: about 10 minutes 30.6 seconds.
10m 30.6s at greatest duration
NASA GSFC places the single longest ring anywhere on the path at 10 minutes 30.6 seconds, in the rainforest of Amapá, Brazil — among the longest annular eclipses of the 21st century.
Wet-season skies
Late January sits in the Amazon's rainy season. Cloud cover is a real risk here, unlike the reliably clear deserts of some past eclipses — build in flexibility and a backup site.
Roadless and remote
Most of the maximum-duration zone has no road access at all. Manaus and organized river trips are the realistic way to get close, not the exact centerline itself.
Unlike the dry desert climax of the 2027 total eclipse, the 2028 climax sits deep in the Amazon during its wettest season. Weather flexibility — and a realistic backup plan — matters more here than exact centerline precision.
Ring vs. partial eclipse
Even at 99% coverage, the exposed sliver of the Sun's photosphere is still blindingly bright. Unlike a total eclipse, an annular eclipse has no moment — inside the path or outside it — when certified viewers can come off.
Inside the path of annularity
Outside the path of annularity
This is the single biggest difference from a total eclipse: there is no "glasses off" moment anywhere on Earth during an annular eclipse, even exactly on the centerline.
Eye safety
A total eclipse has a brief window of true darkness where it is safe to look without protection. An annular eclipse never reaches that point — even at maximum ring, a blinding sliver of the photosphere remains exposed.
Use ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers for the entire event, from first contact to last.
Do not remove viewers at maximum annularity — the ring itself is far too bright to view unfiltered.
Never use eclipse glasses with cameras, binoculars, telescopes, or other optics.
Optical filters must go on the front, Sun-facing aperture of the lens or telescope.
Inspect viewers before every use and discard anything scratched, torn, or punctured.
Supervise children closely; a pinhole projector is a safer group option than shared glasses.
Need certified eclipse glasses?
Our ISO 12312-2 viewers ship individually or in bulk. Because annular eclipses require protection for the entire event, plan for more viewing time per person than a total eclipse.
Video explainer
An annular eclipse behaves differently from a total eclipse in ways that matter for planning — above all, there is no safe moment to look without a filter. This short NASA-funded explainer covers what to expect and how to watch safely.
Use the video as one input. Confirm your site with NASA GSFC, timeanddate, the Helioclipse 3D map, and local weather guidance in the months before the eclipse.
Science notes
An annular eclipse happens for the same basic reason as a total eclipse — the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun — but the geometry differs in one crucial way.
Apogee, not perigee
On January 26, 2028 the Moon sits well beyond its average distance from Earth. From the ground it looks slightly smaller than the Sun's disk, so it can never quite cover it completely.
The antumbra, not the umbra
Because the Moon's shadow cone narrows to a point before reaching Earth, the ground sits in the antumbra — the shadow's extended cone — rather than the true umbra of a total eclipse. That is why a ring, not darkness, results.
Saros 141
This eclipse belongs to Saros 141, a series that has produced annular eclipses for centuries and will continue to do so for centuries more.
Trip checklist
Long-haul eclipse trips reward early preparation: entry requirements confirmed, viewers counted, backup sites chosen for weather, and everyone knowing the safety routine.
Ready to go deeper?
The 3D map lets you check any pin against the exact path of annularity. Certified ISO 12312-2 viewers ship individually or in bulk for schools, tour operators, and public events.
ISO 12312-2 certified · Ships worldwide · Wholesale available
Further reading
Each guide covers one part of the planning puzzle in full. Use them alongside the primary sources for complete confidence before eclipse day.
What the standard means, how to verify compliance, and what to avoid.
How to read the forecast, when to stay put, and when to move for clear sky.
The previous eclipse on the calendar — a long, high-sun totality across Egypt and Arabia.
A low sunset path across Iceland and Spain, and the first stop on the 2026-2028 eclipse run.
Certified ISO 12312-2 viewers for individuals, families, classrooms, and events.
Open the interactive map and check any location against the 2028 path of annularity.
FAQ
Short answers for the decisions most readers need to make before they travel, buy viewers, or organize a group viewing.
The annular solar eclipse is on January 26, 2028. Greatest eclipse is near 15:08 UTC just off the coast of French Guiana and Brazil, with global first partial contact around 12:07 UTC.
The ring reaches about 10 minutes 27 seconds at greatest eclipse and up to about 10 minutes 30.6 seconds at greatest duration in Brazil's Amapá state — among the longest annular eclipses of the 21st century.
The path of annularity crosses the Galápagos Islands, northern Peru, northern Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Madeira, southern Portugal, southern and eastern Spain, and the northern tip of Morocco. A partial eclipse is visible across most of South and Central America, the Caribbean, the eastern United States, West Africa, and western Europe.
During an annular eclipse the Moon is too far from Earth to fully cover the Sun, leaving a bright ring — the "ring of fire" — around it at maximum. Because that ring is always exposed, an annular eclipse never has a safe naked-eye moment the way a total eclipse briefly does.
No — both cities sit just outside the path. Madrid sees about 82% coverage and Lisbon a similarly deep partial, both at sunset, but neither sees the ring. Seville, Valencia, and Faro are inside the path.
Yes, for every second of every phase, including maximum annularity. Unlike a total eclipse, there is no moment — anywhere on the path — when it is safe to look without a certified filter.
For the Amazon leg, yes — late January is deep in the region's rainy season, so cloud cover is a real risk. The Iberian leg, at sunset in the dry Spanish winter, tends to be more reliable, though a low sun near the horizon is itself sensitive to haze.
Start now for Ecuador, Brazil, and French Guiana: confirm entry requirements, book refundable travel where possible, and revisit weather-pattern research as the date approaches. For Spain and Portugal, planning can start a little later, but popular coastal towns still fill up.