There are five eclipses in 2027, and only one of them is a clear event for India: the total solar eclipse of Monday, 2 August 2027, which every Indian city sees as a partial eclipse in the late afternoon (Delhi 3:53 pm to 5:02 pm IST). The other four are either not visible from India (6 February and 17 August) or penumbral lunar eclipses so faint that most people will not notice them (21 February and 18 July), and none of those four carries sutak in India.
Below are the dates, the times for the main cities, the Moon and Sun signs involved, and a plain explanation of the sutak rule, because 2027 is a year in which the "is there sutak or not?" question will come up more than once. Every number here comes from our own eclipse engine, set to Indian Standard Time.
The five eclipses of 2027 at a glance
| Date | Type | Seen from India? | Greatest eclipse (IST) | Sign, nakshatra | Sutak in India |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 6 Feb 2027 | Annular solar | No (night) | 9:29 pm | Sun in Capricorn, Dhanishta | No |
| Sun 21 Feb 2027 | Penumbral lunar | Yes, but faint | 4:42 am | Moon in Leo, Magha | No |
| Sun 18 Jul 2027 | Penumbral lunar | Technically yes, practically no | 9:32 pm | Moon in Capricorn, Uttara Ashadha | No |
| Mon 2 Aug 2027 | Total solar | Yes, as a partial eclipse | 3:36 pm (global) | Sun in Cancer, Pushya | Yes, from 12 h before local start |
| Tue 17 Aug 2027 | Penumbral lunar | No (daytime) | 12:43 pm | Moon in Capricorn, Dhanishta | No |
Each row has its own page with the full contact times: all 2027 eclipses, and the individual pages for 2 August, 6 February, 21 February, 18 July and 17 August.
2 August 2027: the big one
Globally this is a long total solar eclipse: the eclipse begins somewhere on Earth at 1:00 pm IST and ends at 6:13 pm IST, with its greatest point at 3:36 pm. The Moon's shadow does not cross India, so nobody in India sees totality. What India sees is a partial eclipse, a "bite" out of the Sun, late in the afternoon.
How much of the Sun is covered depends strongly on where you are. The south and west see the deepest eclipse; the north and east see a shallower and shorter one.
| City | Eclipse begins | Maximum | Ends | Duration | Sun's diameter covered at max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru | 3:58 pm | 4:53 pm | 5:43 pm | 104 min | 49% |
| Chennai | 4:02 pm | 4:54 pm | 5:41 pm | 99 min | 45% |
| Mumbai | 3:47 pm | 4:41 pm | 5:31 pm | 104 min | 43% |
| Pune | 3:49 pm | 4:43 pm | 5:32 pm | 103 min | 42% |
| Hyderabad | 3:58 pm | 4:47 pm | 5:33 pm | 95 min | 38% |
| Ahmedabad | 3:44 pm | 4:35 pm | 5:21 pm | 97 min | 35% |
| Bhopal | 3:54 pm | 4:38 pm | 5:18 pm | 84 min | 27% |
| Jaipur | 3:50 pm | 4:31 pm | 5:09 pm | 79 min | 22% |
| Delhi | 3:53 pm | 4:29 pm | 5:02 pm | 69 min | 17% |
| Varanasi | 4:05 pm | 4:37 pm | 5:08 pm | 63 min | 15% |
| Lucknow | 4:01 pm | 4:34 pm | 5:05 pm | 64 min | 15% |
| Kolkata | 4:14 pm | 4:44 pm | 5:12 pm | 58 min | 14% |
| Patna | 4:10 pm | 4:38 pm | 5:05 pm | 55 min | 12% |
| Guwahati | 4:26 pm | 4:39 pm | 4:52 pm | 26 min | 3% |
"Covered" here is the eclipse magnitude, the fraction of the Sun's diameter hidden by the Moon at the local maximum. A magnitude of 0.17 in Delhi means a modest notch; 0.49 in Bengaluru means about half the diameter. In Guwahati the eclipse is a brief, small nick of 26 minutes.
The usual safety rule matters more than any ritual rule: never look at the Sun directly or through ordinary sunglasses, a camera or binoculars. Use certified eclipse glasses or project the image (a pinhole on a card works). A partial eclipse is never dark enough to make looking safe.
Sutak for 2 August, city by city
The tradition followed in most North Indian households counts sutak for a solar eclipse from 12 hours before the eclipse begins at your place until it ends there. Because the start differs by city, so does sutak:
| City | Sutak from | Sutak ends (eclipse ends) |
|---|---|---|
| Ahmedabad | 3:44 am | 5:21 pm |
| Mumbai | 3:47 am | 5:31 pm |
| Pune | 3:49 am | 5:32 pm |
| Jaipur | 3:50 am | 5:09 pm |
| Delhi | 3:53 am | 5:02 pm |
| Bhopal | 3:54 am | 5:18 pm |
| Bengaluru | 3:58 am | 5:43 pm |
| Hyderabad | 3:58 am | 5:33 pm |
| Lucknow | 4:01 am | 5:05 pm |
| Chennai | 4:02 am | 5:41 pm |
| Varanasi | 4:05 am | 5:08 pm |
| Patna | 4:10 am | 5:05 pm |
| Kolkata | 4:14 am | 5:12 pm |
| Guwahati | 4:26 am | 4:52 pm |
The eclipse page for 2 August 2027 lists all 28 cities we compute. If your town is not in the list, the nearest large city is usually within a few minutes.
The lunar eclipses: why "visible" can still mean "nothing to see"
All three lunar eclipses of 2027 are penumbral. In a penumbral eclipse the Moon passes only through the Earth's outer, partial shadow (the penumbra) and never enters the dark inner shadow (the umbra). The Moon does not turn red and no "bite" appears; at most one edge looks slightly dusky.
- 21 February 2027, 2:42 am to 6:43 am IST, greatest at 4:42 am, Moon in Leo (Magha). The penumbral magnitude is 0.93, so a careful observer may notice shading on one side of the Moon around its greatest phase at 4:42 am. In the east the Moon sets before the end: in Kolkata the visible part ends at 6:06 am, in Patna at 6:21 am and in Guwahati at 5:55 am.
- 18 July 2027, 9:22 pm to 9:43 pm IST, Moon in Capricorn (Uttara Ashadha). This falls on the night of Guru Purnima, and many calendars will list it. Its penumbral magnitude is only 0.005: the Moon barely grazes the penumbra for 21 minutes. It is visible "on paper" across India; in practice nobody can see it.
- 17 August 2027, greatest at 12:43 pm IST: daytime in India, so not visible at all.
Our engine applies no sutak to a penumbral lunar eclipse. The traditional sutak for a lunar eclipse starts 9 hours before the Moon touches the umbra, and in a penumbral eclipse that contact never happens. You will see some calendars and families observe sutak for 21 February or 18 July anyway; that is a family choice, not something the sky requires. If Guru Purnima rituals are on your mind, the date and timings are on the Guru Purnima page.
6 February 2027: an annular eclipse India will not see
The first eclipse of the year is annular, the kind where the Moon is too small to cover the Sun fully and leaves a bright ring. It peaks at 9:29 pm IST, when the Sun is below the horizon everywhere in India. It is not visible from any of the cities we compute, so there is no sutak in India. You may still see headlines about it, because it is visible elsewhere in the world.
Sutak in plain words
Sutak is a traditional period before an eclipse during which temples close and many households pause cooking, eating and auspicious work. The commonly followed rule, set out in texts like Muhurta Chintamani and Dharmasindhu, has three parts:
- Solar eclipse: sutak starts 12 hours before the eclipse begins at your place.
- Lunar eclipse: sutak starts 9 hours before the umbral (dark shadow) contact.
- Only where the eclipse is visible. If the eclipse cannot be seen from your place, no sutak applies there.
That third part is the one most often lost in forwarded messages. It is why 2 August has a sutak in India while 6 February does not. Traditions also relax sutak for children, the elderly, the unwell and pregnant women; and for pregnancy in particular, follow your doctor's advice first and treat the traditional customs as optional.
What the eclipses mean in astrology, calmly
The 2 August solar eclipse falls with the Sun in Cancer, in Pushya nakshatra, while Rahu and Ketu sit in Capricorn and Cancer (see the Rahu–Ketu transit). Tradition reads an eclipse as a moment for quiet: prayer, japa, charity and a bath afterwards. It is not a reason for fear, and nothing has to be bought to "fix" it. An eclipse falling on your Moon sign or birth nakshatra is noted in tradition, but its effect is read together with your whole chart and running dasha, not on its own. Our explainer on grahan dosha covers the birth-chart side.
The year's other big events, Jupiter's movement between Leo and Cancer and Saturn's entry into Aries on 3 June 2027, are covered in our 2027 rashifal overview.
Why other lists may differ
- Global vs local times. Many lists give the global start and end (1:00 pm to 6:13 pm for 2 August). Your city sees only part of that window. We show the local part.
- Penumbral eclipses. Some lists count them as full eclipses with sutak; some drop them. We list them and say plainly that they carry no sutak and are faint or invisible.
- Rounding and city points. A minute's difference usually comes from the exact coordinates used for a city.
Try it yourself
Open the 2027 eclipse list for every contact time, and the 2 August page for all 28 cities. For your own town's sunrise, sunset and the day's tithi, use the panchang, and if you want to know whether an eclipse falls on your Moon sign or nakshatra, a free kundli shows both.