Taif, Saudi Arabia · Total solar eclipse · 2 August 2027
Eclipse 2027 in Taif
In Taif the eclipse is total for 3 min 48 s, from 13:26:09 to 13:29:56 local time (UTC+3) on Monday 2 August 2027.
Begins12:03:35 UTC+3
Totality13:26:09 to 13:29:56 UTC+3
Your time10:26:09 UTC
When it happens in Taif
| Stage | UTC+3 | UTC | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partial eclipse beginsC1, the Moon first touches the Sun | 12:03:35 | 09:03:35 | 84° |
| Totality beginsC2, the last of the Sun disappears | 13:26:09 | 10:26:09 | 75° |
| Greatest eclipsemid-totality | 13:28:03 | 10:28:03 | 75° |
| Totality endsC3, the first of the Sun returns | 13:29:56 | 10:29:56 | 74° |
| Partial eclipse endsC4, the Moon leaves the Sun | 14:45:47 | 11:45:47 | 57° |
Monday 2 August 2027, local time in Taif (Arabian Standard Time, UTC+3). The Sun column is its height above the horizon. Times are for the centre of Taif, 21.270° N, 40.416° E; a few kilometres away they shift by a few seconds. NASA's elements treat the Moon's edge as smooth. Its mountains and valleys move the second and third contacts by a second or two, and allowing for them Xavier Jubier's map gives 3 min 48 s of totality here.
Taif and the path of totality
The shaded band is the path of totality, the dashed line its centre, where totality lasts longest. Coastlines, rivers and borders: Natural Earth.
Taif is inside the path of totality, 30 km in from its northern edge and 100 km from its centre line.
Totality lasts longest on the centre line: 6 min 12 s at its nearest point, 100 km to the south-west, 2 min 24 s more than in the city.
What you will see
At 12:03:35 the Moon's edge first touches the Sun. Over the next 1 h 23 min it covers more and more, until at 13:26:09 the last bead of sunlight goes out and totality begins: the sky turns a deep twilight blue, bright planets and stars appear, and the Sun's pearly corona spreads round the black Moon for 3 min 48 s. At 13:29:56 the Sun returns, and the Moon takes another 1 h 16 min to move clear, at 14:45:47.
The Sun is almost overhead, 75° up, so a reclining chair or a mat on the ground is far easier than standing with your head tipped back.
How to watch safely
- Wear eclipse glasses that meet the ISO 12312-2 standard whenever any part of the Sun is showing. Sunglasses, however dark, are not safe.
- Never look through binoculars, a telescope or a camera without a proper solar filter on the front.
- A pinhole projector works anywhere: a small hole in card throws an image of the Sun onto paper behind it.
- Only during totality, from 13:26:09 to 13:29:56, is it safe to take the glasses off and look at the corona. Put them back on at the first bright point of sunlight.
See it in 3D
The Moon’s shadow crossing the Earth on the day, drawn by our 3D viewer from the real positions of the Sun, the Moon and the Earth, with the umbra and penumbra at their true size. Press play to load it here, then play, pause and scrub through the eclipse, or open it in the full viewer.
Open this eclipse in the 3D viewer →
Get a reminder
We email you a day or two before, with the time. Leave your email once and we send a code to confirm it; nothing else arrives unless you ask for it.
Get this moment as a print: the sky over Taif at greatest eclipse, on a star map.
Questions
What time is the eclipse in Taif?
On Monday 2 August 2027 it begins at 12:03:35 UTC+3, totality runs from 13:26:09 to 13:29:56, and it ends at 14:45:47. In UTC that is 09:03:35 to 11:45:47.
Is Taif in the path of totality?
Yes. Taif is 30 km inside the northern edge of the path, so the Sun is completely covered for 3 min 48 s.
How long is totality in Taif?
3 min 48 s, from 13:26:09 to 13:29:56 UTC+3. On the centre line, 100 km to the south-west, it lasts 6 min 12 s.
Where is the Sun during the eclipse?
At greatest eclipse it is almost overhead, 75° up (bearing 260°). At the start it is 84° up and at the end 57°.
Is it safe to look at?
Only during totality itself, from 13:26:09 to 13:29:56. Before and after, use ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses or a pinhole projector, and never look through binoculars, a telescope or a camera without a solar filter on the front.
Nearby
- MeccaTotal for 5 min 4 s · 65 km west
- JeddahTotal for 5 min 58 s · 130 km west
- MedinaPartial, 94.4% of the Sun · 360 km north
- AbhaTotal for 6 min 4 s · 400 km south-east
- Marsa AlamTotal for 5 min 28 s · 700 km north-west
- RiyadhPartial, 75.8% of the Sun · 750 km north-east
The whole eclipse, its path and how it works are on the total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027 page, with every city on one list.
Sources
- Fred Espenak, EclipseWise: Besselian elements of the total solar eclipse of 2027 August 2, the numbers every time and duration on this page is worked from
- NASA Eclipse Web Site: Besselian elements and lunar radii for this eclipse
- NASA: path of totality, with centre-line durations
- IERS Bulletin A (8 October 2026): the Earth's predicted rotation on 2 August 2027, which sets Delta T to 69.4 s
- GeoNames: Taif, its coordinates, height and time zone (CC BY 4.0)
- Xavier Jubier: interactive map of the 2027 eclipse, which these times were checked against, and its duration allowing for the Moon's limb
- Natural Earth: coastlines, rivers and borders on the map (public domain)
- NASA: eclipse safety and American Astronomical Society: eye safety
- The method is the classical one for local circumstances (Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac, chapter 8), run for this page at build time.