The 2028 eclipse, and why ships are sailing into its path

Solar eclipses happen when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and casts its shadow on the Earth. They occur somewhere on the planet a couple of times a year, but any one place sees a total or annular eclipse only rarely, often centuries apart. That is why the next few years are unusual for southern Europe. Between 2026 and 2028, the Iberian peninsula is crossed by the paths of three great eclipses in succession, an event that Spanish astronomers have taken to calling the eclipse triplet.

The first, a total eclipse, crossed northern Spain on 12 August 2026. The second, on 2 August 2027, will be one of the longest total eclipses of the century, its path crossing the Strait of Gibraltar and the far south of Spain before running across North Africa to Egypt. The third, on 26 January 2028, is an annular eclipse, and its path ends over Madeira, southern Portugal and southern Spain.

A ring of fire

An annular eclipse is different from a total one. The Moon's orbit is not quite circular, so its distance from the Earth varies, and when an eclipse happens while the Moon is near its farthest point, it appears slightly too small to cover the Sun completely. At the height of the eclipse, a bright ring of sunlight is left around the dark disc of the Moon: the annulus, from the Latin for a ring, often called the ring of fire.

The sky does not go dark as it does in a total eclipse, and the Sun's corona is not visible. But the sight of the ring, and the strange, thin light that falls across the landscape as the eclipse progresses, is memorable. The 2028 eclipse will be unusually long for its type, with the ring visible for several minutes at points along the path, and it happens late in the afternoon over Iberia, with the Sun low in the western sky.

Why watch from a ship

Eclipse chasers have long gone to sea. A ship can move, within limits, to find clear skies when the weather forecast shows cloud along part of the path, and the open sea offers an unobstructed horizon, which matters when the Sun is low. In January, the Atlantic islands and the coasts of southern Iberia are among the mildest places in Europe, which makes a winter cruise a comfortable way to be in the region at the right time.

A cruise is not a guarantee. The weather may close in, and the ship's position on the day is up to the captain. But being within the path, rather than outside it, makes all the difference: outside the path, the Sun is only partly covered, and the effect is much less striking.

Watching safely

An annular eclipse must never be watched with the naked eye or through ordinary sunglasses, binoculars or a camera without a proper solar filter, because even the thin ring of sunlight left at the height of the eclipse can damage the eyes. Certified eclipse glasses, or a simple pinhole projector, are the safe ways to watch. Under trees, the gaps between the leaves act as pinholes, and the ground is scattered with small images of the ring.

The sailings

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has several winter voyages from Málaga built around the eclipse. Canary Islands, Madeira & the Solar Eclipse, thirteen nights, departs in January 2028 and calls at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas, San Sebastián de la Gomera, La Estaca on El Hierro, Santa Cruz de La Palma, Funchal and Lisbon, ending at Portsmouth.

Mediterranean, Canaries & the Solar Eclipse, thirty-four nights, departs at the start of January 2028 and combines the eastern Mediterranean, with Cartagena, Siracusa, Alexandria, Limassol, Rhodes, Istanbul, Piraeus and Valletta, with the Canary Islands. Mediterranean, Canaries Christmas & the Solar Eclipse, forty-six nights, departs in December 2027, with Gibraltar, Funchal and the Canaries as well as the eastern Mediterranean.

The eclipse itself lasts only minutes, and the weeks around it are the holiday. If the sky clears at the right moment, those minutes are the part people remember.