Will the January 26, 2028 eclipse be visible from Western Europe?

Yes, modestly: in the late afternoon, the already-low Sun is bitten into by the Moon, especially in the south-west of the continent. You’ll need a clear western horizon and certified ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses, no exceptions.

Where will the ring be most spectacular?

In South America, where it forms around midday, and more rarely still on the south-western coasts of Spain and Portugal, where the ring settles onto the horizon at the very moment of sunset.

Moon calendar · eclipses

The solar eclipse of January 26, 2028 a ring that fades at the Iberian sunset.

On January 26, 2028, an annular solar eclipse traces its ring of fire from Ecuador to northern Brazil, crosses the Atlantic and ends its run at sunset over the south-west of Spain and Portugal. Western Europe sees a modest partial eclipse in the late afternoon, the Sun already low. Global peak at 15:08 UTC, i.e. 16:08 in Paris, new Moon at 6° of Aquarius: the last solar eclipse of the Leo-Aquarius run.

The essentials

Date: January 26, 2028
Type: annular solar
Peak: 15:08 UTC, i.e. 16:08 in Paris
Ring visible from: Ecuador, Peru, northern Brazil, Suriname, then the south-west of Spain and Portugal at sunset
Partial visible from: eastern North America, Central and South America, Western Europe, north-west Africa
Sign occupied: Sun and Moon at 6° of Aquarius

What happens that day?

The January new Moon turns up too far from Earth to cover the Sun entirely: its disc, a little smaller than the solar one, lets a ring of light spill over. The antumbra touches Earth in the Pacific, comes ashore in South America through Ecuador and Peru, crosses Amazonia and northern Brazil, then sets off over the Atlantic.

It’s the end of its run that turns toward Europe: the ring reaches the south-west of the Iberian Peninsula just as the Sun is setting. A ring of fire resting on the Atlantic horizon, in the glow of dusk: a rare image, which will draw photographers to the Andalusian and Portuguese coasts.

Where and how to watch it?

On the band of annularity, the ring forms around midday on the South American side (Ecuador, Peru, northern Brazil, Suriname), then just above the horizon on the Iberian side, at the very end of the afternoon. Around the band, the partial covers a wide territory: eastern North America, Central and South America, north-west Africa and Western Europe.

In Western Europe, the eclipse is visible but subtle: in the late afternoon, the Sun sinking toward the horizon is nibbled by the Moon, more so in the south-west than in the north-east. A clear western horizon is essential, the phenomenon playing out in the last hour of daylight. And the rule never changes: certified ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses from start to finish, even for a low Sun reddened by the horizon, or indirect projection viewing. Sunglasses do not protect you.

What astrology reads into it

This eclipsed new Moon stands at 6° of Aquarius: it’s the last solar eclipse of the Leo-Aquarius run opened in February 2026, the one that closes the chapter before the Cancer-Capricorn axis takes over. Tradition reads these closing eclipses as signatures at the bottom of the page: what the run had set in motion finds its final form.

Aquarius speaks of chosen bonds, of ideas in circulation, of the collective. A closing here invites you to look at what two years of Leo-Aquarius eclipses have shifted in your way of being in the world and with others: what has shone, what has connected. With no omen at all: a time of reckoning, set down by the celestial calendar.

And the next one?

The summer of 2028 will take over: a partial lunar eclipse on July 6, poorly placed for Western Europe, then the big event of the year, the total solar eclipse of July 22 over Australia and New Zealand, with Sydney right in the band of totality. And on December 31, 2028, a total lunar eclipse will close the year in the sky of Western Europe.

Frequently asked questions

Will the January 26, 2028 eclipse be visible from Western Europe?: Yes, modestly: in the late afternoon, the already-low Sun is bitten into by the Moon, especially in the south-west of the continent. You’ll need a clear western horizon and certified ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses, no exceptions.
Where will the ring be most spectacular?: In South America, where it forms around midday, and more rarely still on the south-western coasts of Spain and Portugal, where the ring settles onto the horizon at the very moment of sunset.