Surya Grahan and Chandra Grahan 2026 and 2027: Dates, Visibility and Sutak by City

In shortFour solar and five lunar eclipses fall in 2026 and 2027. Each has its own page with the times in 49 cities, and the calculator gives the same for any town. By Hindu tradition sutak and the grahan rules apply only where the eclipse can be seen, so visibility comes first.

A grahan is an eclipse. The word means a seizing, and the traditional account of it is the story of Rahu, the head of the demon Svarbhanu, who tasted the nectar of immortality and was cut in two by Vishnu’s discus. The head, Rahu, and the tail, Ketu, still pursue the Sun and the Moon and now and then swallow them for a while. The astronomical account is quieter and just as old. An eclipse happens when the Sun, the Earth and the Moon line up, and it can only happen at a new moon or a full moon that falls close to the points where the Moon’s path crosses the Sun’s, the very points the tradition names Rahu and Ketu. You can read more about those two on the page about Rahu and Ketu and the past-life blueprint.

This section gives you every eclipse of 2026 and 2027, what each one looks like, who can see it, and the local times for 49 cities in India and abroad. It also gives the sutak time, the period of caution that many households keep before an eclipse. Nothing here is a prediction of events. It is a calendar, with the astronomy worked out carefully, and it leaves the question of what to do with it to your family and your temple.

Solar and lunar eclipses

At a solar eclipse, or Surya Grahan, the Moon passes in front of the Sun at the new moon, which Hindu calendars call Amavasya (see the page on Amavasya). The Moon’s shadow is small, so the full eclipse is seen only along a narrow track across the Earth. On either side of it a partial eclipse is seen, and far from it nothing is seen at all. A total eclipse hides the whole Sun for a few minutes, and an annular one leaves a bright ring because the Moon is a little too far away to cover it.

At a lunar eclipse, or Chandra Grahan, the Moon passes into the Earth’s shadow at the full moon, the day of Purnima. Because the Earth’s shadow is large, everyone on the night side of the Earth can see it, whatever their city, as long as the Moon is above the horizon. A total lunar eclipse turns the Moon a dim copper red. A partial one takes a dark bite out of it. A penumbral eclipse only dims it slightly, so slightly that many people never notice it.

The traditional rules in brief

Sutak is counted from twelve hours before a solar eclipse and nine hours before a lunar eclipse. It is kept only at places where the eclipse is visible, and it ends when the eclipse ends. The common practices are to close temples, to avoid cooking and eating during the period, to chant mantras and bathe after the eclipse. Penumbral eclipses are generally not counted as a grahan and have no sutak. These are traditions, and families vary in how they keep them, so what we give is the time and not a ruling. Pregnant women, children, the elderly and the unwell are widely excused.

For the Sun, the first rule of watching is a safety rule, not a tradition: never look at it directly. Each solar eclipse page carries the details.

How the pages were made

The time of every eclipse and the shape of the shadows come from NASA’s published data, which is in the public domain. For each of the 49 cities the page works out the local circumstances with the standard method, then checks that the Sun or the Moon is above the horizon. The results were compared with timeanddate.com for several cities for every eclipse, and the first and last contacts agreed to within a minute, and moonrise, moonset and sunset to within two minutes. The same code runs in the eclipse visibility calculator for any town. Day by day panchang timings for your city are in the panchang section.

The nine eclipses of 2026 and 2027

ToolEclipse visibility calculatorAny town or city: is it seen, and when does it begin, peak and end. Solar, annular17 February 2026Ring eclipse over Antarctica. Partial in southern Africa and South America. Not seen from India.Lunar, total3 March 2026Total eclipse on Phalguna Purnima. Seen from the Americas, East Asia and Australia. India saw the last part at moonrise.Solar, total12 August 2026Total over Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Partial across Europe and North America. Night in India.Lunar, partial28 August 2026Partial eclipse on Shravana Purnima. Seen from the Americas, Europe and Africa. Not seen from India.Solar, annular6 February 2027Ring eclipse over Chile, Argentina and the Atlantic. Not seen from India or from almost any of our cities.Lunar, penumbral20 February 2027Faint shading on Magha Purnima. Seen all night from India, Europe and Africa. No sutak.Lunar, barely penumbral18 July 2027A near miss on Guru Purnima: the Moon grazes the faint shadow for 12 minutes. Nothing to see, no sutak.Solar, total2 August 2027Total over Spain, Morocco and Egypt for over six minutes. A partial eclipse in the afternoon across all of India.Lunar, penumbral17 August 2027Faint shading on Shravana Purnima, seen from the Americas and the Pacific. Not seen from India, no sutak.

Which city sees which eclipse

Yes means the whole eclipse can be seen, Part means the Sun or the Moon is up for only part of it, and No means it is not seen or, for a lunar eclipse, shows no visible change. Open an eclipse page for the exact local times.

City	17 Feb 2026 solar	3 Mar 2026 lunar	12 Aug 2026 solar	28 Aug 2026 lunar	6 Feb 2027 solar	20 Feb 2027 lunar	18 Jul 2027 lunar	2 Aug 2027 solar	17 Aug 2027 lunar
New York	No	Part	Yes	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Edison, New Jersey	No	Part	Yes	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Chicago	No	Part	Yes	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Houston	No	Part	No	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Dallas	No	Part	No	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Atlanta	No	Part	No	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Washington DC	No	Part	Yes	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Boston	No	Part	Yes	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Philadelphia	No	Part	Yes	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Detroit	No	Part	Yes	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
San Jose and the Bay Area	No	Yes	No	Part	No	No	No	No	Yes
Los Angeles	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes
Seattle	No	Yes	No	Part	No	No	No	No	Yes
Phoenix	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes
Toronto	No	Part	Yes	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Brampton	No	Part	Yes	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Montreal	No	Part	Yes	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Calgary	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Vancouver	No	Yes	No	Part	No	No	No	No	Yes
London	No	No	Yes	Part	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Leicester	No	No	Yes	Part	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Birmingham	No	No	Yes	Part	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Manchester	No	No	Yes	Part	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Amsterdam	No	No	Yes	Part	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Frankfurt	No	No	Part	Part	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Sydney	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Part
Melbourne	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Part
Brisbane	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Part
Perth	No	Part	No	No	No	Part	No	No	No
Auckland	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Part
Dubai	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Doha	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Singapore	No	Part	No	No	No	Part	No	Part	No
Kuala Lumpur	No	Part	No	No	No	Part	No	Part	No
Kathmandu	No	Part	No	No	No	Part	No	Yes	No
Nairobi	No	No	No	Part	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Durban	Yes	No	No	Part	Part	Yes	No	No	No
Port Louis, Mauritius	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Port of Spain, Trinidad	No	Part	No	Yes	No	Part	No	No	Yes
Suva, Fiji	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Part
New Delhi	No	Part	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Mumbai	No	Part	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Ahmedabad	No	Part	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Bengaluru	No	Part	No	No	No	Part	No	Yes	No
Chennai	No	Part	No	No	No	Part	No	Yes	No
Hyderabad	No	Part	No	No	No	Part	No	Yes	No
Kolkata	No	Part	No	No	No	Part	No	Yes	No
Pune	No	Part	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Jaipur	No	Part	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No

How the solar eclipse times are worked out

The shadow of the Moon is described by a small set of numbers, the Besselian elements, that NASA publishes for every eclipse (Fred Espenak, eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov, public domain). For each city this site finds where the Moon's shadow axis passes in relation to the place and when the edge of the shadow reaches it, which gives first contact, the moment of greatest eclipse and last contact, and the share of the Sun's diameter covered, called the magnitude. The share of the Sun's disc that is hidden is the obscuration. The Sun's height above the horizon decides what can be seen, so where the Sun rises or sets during the eclipse the table says so and shows the first or last moment you can see it.

Times are the local clock time of the city, with daylight saving where it applies, cut to the whole minute. Magnitude and obscuration are for the moment shown in the Maximum column.

Sutak. By Hindu tradition the period of caution before a solar eclipse, sutak, begins twelve hours before first contact and ends when the eclipse ends. It is kept only at places where the eclipse can be seen. Temples close, cooking and eating are avoided in many households, and a bath and fresh food follow the eclipse. Some families go by a sutak of a different length, and some regions keep it more loosely, so follow your own family or temple. Children, the elderly and the unwell are generally excused from fasting.

How the lunar eclipse times are worked out

The time of greatest eclipse, the magnitude and the lengths of the penumbral, partial and total phases are taken from NASA's catalogue of lunar eclipses (Fred Espenak, eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov, public domain). A lunar eclipse starts and ends at the same instant for everybody on the night side of the Earth, so what changes between cities is the clock time and whether the Moon is above the horizon. This site works out the Moon's height for each city at each stage, and the table gives the first and last moment you can see the eclipse.

Times are the local clock time of the city, with daylight saving where it applies, cut to the whole minute. For eclipses with a dark umbral stage the table lists that stage, when the Moon enters the dark core of the Earth's shadow, because the traditional rules count it. The faint penumbral stage is the one listed only for eclipses that have no umbral stage.

Sutak. By Hindu tradition the period of caution before a lunar eclipse, sutak, begins nine hours before the eclipse and ends when it ends. This page counts it from the first umbral contact, and only for a city where the eclipse can be seen. A penumbral eclipse is not counted as a grahan in most almanacs and has no sutak. Families follow their own rules for what is avoided during sutak, so follow your own family or temple. Children, the elderly and the unwell are generally excused from fasting.

Frequently asked questions

↳ How many eclipses are there in 2026 and 2027?

There are nine, four solar and five lunar. In 2026 there are two of each, and in 2027 there are two solar and three lunar. Of the nine, only three show anything from Indian cities: the lunar eclipse of 3 March 2026 at moonrise, the faint penumbral eclipse of 20 February 2027 and the partial solar eclipse of 2 August 2027, as the table above shows city by city.

↳ Is sutak kept for an eclipse that I cannot see?

By the usual rule, no. Sutak and the other grahan observances apply where the eclipse is visible. Where only a small part is seen, for example at moonrise, practice varies, and many families still keep the sutak that the almanac gives for their city. When in doubt, follow your family or your temple.

↳ Why do the times differ between cities?

A lunar eclipse begins at one moment for everybody who can see it, but the clock shows a different time in each city. A solar eclipse is different in a second way too, because the Moon's shadow reaches each place at a different moment and covers a different share of the Sun there.

↳ Can I use the tables for a town that is not listed?

Yes. The eclipse visibility calculator takes any town or city and gives the same figures for every eclipse in the section, using the same method as the tables.

↳ Are the 2026 eclipses on these pages still useful?

The four eclipses of 2026 have already taken place, and their pages are kept as a record, with the times that applied to each city. The five eclipses of 2027 are still ahead.

Grahan: Solar and Lunar Eclipses of 2026 and 2027, with Local Times