Ancient Egypt’s former capital is about to witness the rare “eclipse of the century” on August 2, 2027.
A total solar eclipse will plunge parts of North Africa, Europe and the Middle East into daytime darkness. In August next year, the moon shadow will blur the sun in Luxor, Egypt, thereby offering the longest duration of totality anywhere on the planet until 2114, lasting an astonishing 6 minutes and 23 seconds.
What makes this eclipse so rare and special as it is the second-longest total eclipse of the 21st century after the July 2009 eclipse, offering the longest land-based totality since 1991.
The path of totality sweeps across southern Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia. Almost 89 million people live inside the path.
People living in Luxor will benefit from a high probability of clear summer skies and minimal clouds. Peak summer temperature in Luxor regularly exceeds 41C. Therefore, the visitors could face heat exhaustion and potential equipment degradation.
Luxor is often called the world’s largest open-air museum. It is built on the site of ancient Thebes and home to to Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple and, across the Nile, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, the Colossi of Memnon and Medinet Habu.
Oxford University astrophysics professor Roger Davies suggests that the extended 6-minutes duration will allow the human eye and telescopes to adjust to darkness well enough to spot multiple planets and bright stars, giving massive opportunity for research.
