Annular solar eclipse 2027: everything you need to know about the 'ring of fire' on Feb. 6

Annular solar eclipse 2027: everything you need to know about the 'ring of fire' on Feb. 6 Here's where and when to see the 'ring of fire' annular solar eclipse on Feb. 6, 2027 An annular solar eclipse will occur on Feb. 6, 2027, when the moon's cone-shaped central shadow will not quite reach Earth. The result will be a 'ring of fire' visible to those within a broad path across southern Chile, Argentina and coastal parts of West Africa. At the point of greatest eclipse in the Pacific, the moon will cover 93% of the sun's disk, leaving a relatively large bright ring visible for 7 minutes and 51 seconds. That makes it one of the longest annular solar eclipses this decade. During an annular solar eclipse, it is NEVER safe to look directly at the sun without solar eclipse glasses designed for solar viewing. Read our guide on how to observe the sun safely. This annular solar eclipse has a long and broad path, rising southwest of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in the south Pacific Ocean and setting in the Gulf of Guinea, West Africa. That journey is 9,011 miles (14,501 kilometers), with the path between 180-220 miles (289-355 km) wide. The path of annularity crosses southern parts of Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and (a tiny sliver of) Brazil in South America. After crossing the Atlantic, the northern edge of the path just makes land in the Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. The Path of Annularity: South America Eclipse chasers wanting to observe annularity high in the sky while on land should head to Chile or Argentina, with the latter having a better chance of a clear sky. The path crosses northern Patagonia, a region of wide skies, low population, and — crucially in February — a generally favorable climate. As it reaches Chile's Pacific coast, the "ring of fire" will sit around 50° above the northeast, but this region of mountains and fjords is both logistically challenging and likely cloudy. Average February cloud cover along the centerline in Chile is typically around 65%, while just across the mountains in a classic rain-shadow zone in Argentina's Patagonian plains, cloud cover drops to as low as 30%, according to meteorologist Jay Anderson on Eclipsophile.com. Standout locations in the rain-shadow include El Maitén (which is being favored by eclipse tour groups), Esquel and Trevelin, where annularity occurs just before midday. There's a similarly small chance of cloud on Argentina's Atlantic coast, with potential observing locations including Las Grutas on the San Matias Gulf and, south of Buenos Aires, the lush Laguna La Brava. Although the path brushes Uruguay (just missing Montevideo), and nicks Brazil (just missing Rio de Janeiro), once the centerline of the path of annularity leaves Argentina, it doesn't make landfall again. The Path of Annularity: Africa After crossing the South Atlantic, the path of annularity makes its final landfall in West Africa, reaching Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Here, the eclipse unfolds late in the day, with the "ring of fire" hanging low in the western sky as it approaches the horizon. At Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the sun will be 7.7° above west-southwest just 30 minutes before sunset, though a potentially orange-golden "ring of fire" will last for just a fleeting moment. Other potential observing locations include Cape of Three Points in Ghana for a long annular phase just six degrees above the horizon, as well as the capital city, Accra, where it's just four degrees up. Lomé in Togo, Cotonou in Benin and Lagos in Nigeria will see the annular phase moments before sunset. Although statistics show cumulus cloud cover in this region to be common, much of it dissipates by late afternoon, according to Anderson, with sea-breeze winds from the Atlantic — as well as "eclipse cooling" — potentially helping. As such, there's around a 90% chance of a clear sky in this region for a spectacular sunset "ring of fire." A much bigger problem, however, could come from Saharan dust, with reduced clarity likely. Why does the 2027 'ring of fire' last so long? The Feb. 6, 2027 annular solar eclipse is unusually long, with its maximum phase lasting up to 7 minutes 51 seconds just off the coast of Brazil — far longer than most annular eclipses, and significantly longer than the totality phase during a total solar eclipse. The reason is geometry. Annular eclipses happen when the moon is near apogee, its farthest point from Earth, making it appear slightly too small to cover the sun. Instead of a brief blackout, the moon takes longer to cross the sun's face, leaving a bright ring visible throughout. The moon reaches apogee three days before Feb. 6, 2027. That duration is extended because Earth is near perihelion in early January, when the sun appears marginally larger than average. A smaller apparent moon and a larger apparent sun combine to lengthen the event. Even so, 2027 is not a record-breaker. Under a near-perfect alignment, annularity can theoretically last up to about 12 minutes and 29 seconds. The longest this century occurred on Jan. 15, 2010, when the ring of fire persisted for just over 11 minutes. Additional resources Want to look further ahead? You can find a concise summary of solar eclipses out to 2030 on NASA's eclipse website. Read more about solar and lunar eclipses on EclipseWise.com, a website dedicated to predictions of eclipses. See beautiful maps on eclipse cartographer Michael Zeiler's GreatAmericanEclipse.com and interactive Google Maps on Xavier Jubier's eclipse website. You can find climate and weather predictions by meteorologist Jay Anderson on eclipsophile.com. Bibliography Anderson, J. Annular Solar Eclipse February 6, 2027. Retrieved May 5, 2026, from https://eclipsophile.com/ase-2027/ Bakich, M. and Zeiler, M. (2022). Atlas Of Solar Eclipses 2020-2045. Espenak, F. Solar Eclipse Prime Page: Annular Solar Eclipse of 2027 Feb 06. Retrieved May 5, 2026, from: https://eclipsewise.com/oh/ec2027.html#SE2027Feb06A Jubier, X. (n.d.). Solar eclipses: Interactive Google Maps. Retrieved May 5, 2026, from http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/SolarEclipsesGoogleMaps.html Time and Date. (n.d.). 17 February 2026 Annular Solar Eclipse. Retrieved May 5, 2026, from https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2026-february-17 Related: What's the difference between a total solar eclipse and an annular solar eclipse? You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Jamie is an experienced science and travel journalist, stargazer and eclipse chaser who writes about exploring the night sky, solar and lunar eclipses, the Northern Lights, moon-gazing, astro-travel, astronomy and space exploration. He is the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com, author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners, co-author of The Eclipse Effect, and a senior contributor at Forbes.