Annular Solar Eclipse of January 26, 2028: A Ring of Fire
The Moon is too far away to cover the Sun completely: a ring of light stays visible for 10 minutes 27 seconds, from Ecuador to Portugal via Brazil and Spain. There is no moment, anywhere, when it's safe to remove your glasses.
Unlike a total eclipse, an annular eclipse never covers 100% of the Sun. ISO 12312-2 glasses stay on from first contact to last, including at the peak, including inside the path of annularity.
Key facts about the January 26, 2028 eclipse
On Wednesday, January 26, 2028, an annular solar eclipse traces a path opening in Ecuador, crossing Peru, Brazil, and Suriname, then crossing the Atlantic to reach Spain and Portugal. Along that corridor, the Moon never fully covers the Sun: a ring of light stays visible around the lunar disk for up to 10 minutes 27 seconds, the longest single phase, total or annular, anywhere in this calendar through 2030. Outside that path, across a zone spanning the eastern half of North America, Central and South America, western Europe, and the northwestern edge of Africa, the eclipse is visible as partial.
This is the first annular eclipse documented in detail on this site, after two total eclipses in 2026 and 2027. The distinction isn't a technicality: it changes a central safety rule, covered below.
Is this eclipse visible from the US or UK?
United States and Canada
Partially, yes, for the eastern half of the continent. The partial-visibility zone for this eclipse is listed as extending to eastern North America, alongside Central and South America. That's the first date in this five-year calendar where North America appears directly in a partial-visibility zone. It is still outside the path of annularity itself, so no ring of fire is visible from anywhere in the US or Canada, only a partial eclipse.
United Kingdom
The partial-visibility zone also includes western Europe, wide enough to plausibly cover the UK, though our source doesn't give a UK-specific timing or percentage yet. As with the rest of Europe outside Spain and Portugal, the eclipse stays partial; the path of annularity itself doesn't reach British soil.
What makes an eclipse annular instead of total
Magnitude measures how much of the Sun's diameter the Moon covers at maximum. On January 26, 2028, it's 0.921: below the threshold of 1, even a perfectly centered Moon isn't large enough to cover the entire solar disk. The result is an unbroken ring of light around the lunar silhouette during the peak phase, the defining feature of an annular eclipse.
The cause is distance. The Moon's orbit around Earth isn't a perfect circle but an ellipse, and its apparent size, as seen from Earth, varies noticeably between its closest and farthest points. A total eclipse needs a relatively close Moon, large enough to cover the Sun; an annular eclipse happens when the Moon, farther out on its orbit that day, looks too small. January 26, 2028 falls into the second case.
The four rated eclipses, ranked by magnitude
- TAug 2, 2027, magnitude 1.079: total, the widest margin above 1.
- TAug 12, 2026, magnitude 1.039: total, the narrowest margin above 1.
- AJun 1, 2030, magnitude 0.944: annular, the closest to full coverage without succeeding.
- AJan 26, 2028, magnitude 0.921: annular, the widest margin below 1, this eclipse.
Why you never remove your glasses, not even at the peak
A total eclipse gives observers inside its path a brief window where the Sun is fully hidden and the naked eye becomes safe again. An annular eclipse never offers that window, neither inside its path nor outside it. Even at the peak of January 26, 2028, when the ring reaches its thinnest, the portion of the Sun's surface still shining is more than enough to damage the retina within seconds of direct exposure.
The rule here is simpler than for 2026 or 2027, but also stricter: ISO 12312-2 glasses stay on from first contact to last, with no exception, no matter where you're standing for this particular date, inside the path of annularity or far from it.
What makes an annular eclipse's risk different
The danger isn't a brighter light than an equivalent crescent during a deep partial eclipse; it's the temptation to look longer at a shape that looks dramatic and unfamiliar. The behavior to follow stays the same as for any direct solar observation: certified glasses on before looking up, short sessions, and a check of the filter before use.
The reference guide
Our eclipse glasses guide explains why a retinal burn doesn't hurt at the moment it happens, what actually counts as certified protection, and indirect projection methods that work without any glasses at all.
A record-length ring: 10 minutes 27 seconds
Of the four maximum-phase durations in this calendar through 2030, January 26, 2028 is the longest: 10 minutes 27 seconds, against 6 minutes 23 seconds for the August 2027 totality, 5 minutes 21 seconds for the June 2030 annular ring, and 2 minutes 18 seconds for the August 2026 totality. A ring this long comes from a Moon near the far point of its orbit combined with an unusually central alignment between the Earth, Moon, and Sun at the moment of the eclipse.
For observers inside the path, that leaves an unusually long stretch of time to study the full ring: enough to switch camera lenses, adjust a tripod, or simply pass a filtered view around a group, always through a certified filter, never with the naked eye.
The path: Ecuador to Portugal via Brazil
The path of annularity for January 26, 2028 begins in South America, with Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Suriname, before crossing the Atlantic to reach Europe through Spain and Portugal. It's a transatlantic corridor, similar in shape to the one on August 12, 2026, which already linked Greenland and Iceland to Spain, but this time running west to east at a lower latitude.
Beyond that path, the eclipse stays visible as partial across a zone covering the eastern half of North America, Central and South America, western Europe, and the northwestern edge of Africa. That's the zone where the UK and the eastern United States and Canada both fall.
Spain returns, and this time so does Portugal
For the third eclipse running, Spain falls inside a path of totality or annularity: in the north in 2026, farther south in 2027, and again in 2028, this time alongside Portugal. Three eclipses, three different bands, one consistent geographic thread, the Iberian Peninsula, unusually exposed to lunar shadows across this stretch of the decade.
For US and UK travelers who've been tracking the 2026 and 2027 eclipses from the Spanish border area, this one confirms the pattern: Spain, and now Portugal, remain the shortest hop out of a merely partial eclipse and into the real thing. Our next solar eclipse calendar lines up all five dates and their paths side by side for comparison.
Winter timing: a low Sun for Northern Hemisphere viewers
January 26 falls in the middle of winter, a clear break from the other eclipses in this calendar, all clustered between June and August. Across much of the Northern Hemisphere's mid-latitudes, including the continental United States, the UK, and continental Europe, the Sun stays low on the horizon for a large part of the day in late January, whatever the exact local time of the eclipse's maximum turns out to be. That's a factor to plan for in choosing a viewing site, the same as for any winter solar observation, independent of the eclipse itself.
Precise local timings and coverage percentages by city hadn't been published for this date at the time this page was written. The safety principle doesn't depend on those numbers either way: whether it covers a little or a lot of the Sun from where you're standing, this annular eclipse requires ISO 12312-2 glasses without interruption, from first contact to last.
After this: 2029's gap, then the ring of June 1, 2030
This annular eclipse sits between two other dates in this calendar. Before it, August 2, 2027: a total eclipse, with its brief no-glasses window inside the path, the opposite of this date's strict rule. After it, 2029 brings no solar eclipse visible from Europe at all, though two of that year's four partial eclipses do touch North America and the Scandinavian Arctic. Then, on June 1, 2030, a second annular eclipse arrives, shorter than this one (5 minutes 21 seconds against 10 minutes 27) and on an entirely different track, from Algeria to Greece and on to Japan rather than through Spain and Portugal, with Alaska inside its partial-visibility zone.
Comparing all three pages gives a complete picture of what this stretch of the decade holds for a US or UK-based observer. Our next solar eclipse calendar brings all five dates together on one page, comparison table included.
Frequently asked questions
What is an annular solar eclipse?
An eclipse where the Moon, farther from Earth on its orbit than during a total eclipse, looks too small to cover the Sun's disk completely. A ring of light stays visible around the Moon at the eclipse's peak, which is why it's called a ring of fire. On January 26, 2028, that ring lasts up to 10 minutes 27 seconds.
Why can you never remove your glasses during an annular eclipse?
Because the ring of light that remains, even reduced to a thin band, is still thousands of times too bright for the naked eye. Unlike a total eclipse, where the Sun's disk is fully hidden for a few minutes, an annular eclipse has no phase of complete darkness: part of the Sun's surface stays visible from first contact to last.
Is the January 26, 2028 eclipse visible from the US or UK?
As a partial eclipse, yes for parts of both. The partial-visibility zone extends to eastern North America and western Europe, which includes the UK, though it stays outside the actual path of annularity, which runs through Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Suriname, Spain, and Portugal.
Are Spain and Portugal inside the path of annularity?
Yes, both: after crossing the Atlantic from Brazil and Suriname, the path of annularity reaches Europe through Spain and Portugal. It's the third eclipse in a row, after 2026 and 2027, where Spain falls inside a path of totality or annularity.
How does this compare to the total eclipse of August 2, 2027?
The August 2027 eclipse is total, with a brief window inside its path where the Sun's disk is fully hidden and naked-eye viewing is safe. The January 2028 eclipse is annular: the Moon never covers the whole Sun, and glasses have to stay on without interruption, even at the eclipse's peak and even inside the path.
How long does the ring of fire last?
Up to 10 minutes 27 seconds at the most favorable point along the path, the longest single phase, total or annular, in this entire calendar between 2026 and 2030.
Can you observe an annular eclipse in the middle of winter?
Yes, the season doesn't change the mechanics of the eclipse or the safety rule. It does change viewing conditions: in late January, the Sun stays low on the horizon for much of the day across the mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere, a factor worth planning around.
Where can I buy glasses in January, outside peak demand?
The same channels that work for any eclipse remain open year-round: opticians, pharmacies, astronomy shops, and online marketplaces. Outside the two weeks before a heavily publicized eclipse, pressure on stock is much lower. Our eclipse glasses guide covers the verification checklist.
When is the next annular eclipse after 2028?
June 1, 2030, with a path running through Algeria, Tunisia, Greece, Turkey, Russia, northern China, and Japan. Between the two, 2029 brings no solar eclipse visible from Europe.