Yes, you can watch the eclipse of 2 August 2027 from home if you can see the Sun from your window, balcony or roof terrace at that time. In mid-morning it will be high, between 34.5° and 47.6° above the horizon across mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, and towards the east or a little south of east: in Madrid, 39.8° at maximum eclipse, at 10:51:17 Spanish time (CEST, UTC+2). Window glass is not a filter, so you need the same EN ISO 12312-2 glasses as outdoors, and the view is better with the window open. From a car, only when it is parked somewhere legal; while driving, never.
Where the Sun will be from your home
Altitude is the angle above the horizon, and azimuth is the direction: 90° is due east and 180° is due south. With the Sun between 82° and 110° of azimuth, a window facing east or south-east will work. One facing west or north won’t, and you’ll have to go out into the street, onto the roof or to a park. At that height, the eaves or the balcony of the flat upstairs can also block it, so don’t trust the floor plan: the IGN (Spain’s National Geographic Institute) advises visiting your chosen spot a few days beforehand to check for obstacles, and your home is no exception.
This is where the Sun will be at maximum eclipse in some of Spain’s provincial capitals:
| City | Sun covered | Maximum | Sun’s altitude | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid | 86.1% | 10:51:17 | 39.8° | 100.8° |
| Barcelona | 81.6% | 10:58:31 | 45.1° | 108.0° |
| Valencia | 90.4% | 10:54:52 | 43.2° | 103.2° |
| Seville | 98.4% | 10:47:34 | 37.8° | 96.1° |
| Zaragoza | 80.9% | 10:54:53 | 42.2° | 104.8° |
| Bilbao | 74.4% | 10:53:17 | 40.1° | 104.1° |
| A Coruña | 73.4% | 10:48:02 | 35.2° | 98.8° |
| Palma (Mallorca) | 89.3% | 10:58:52 | 46.2° | 106.8° |
| Málaga | 100% (total) | 10:49:05 | 39.4° | 96.9° |
| Las Palmas de Gran Canaria | 77.2% | 09:34:25 | 26.9° | 83.3° |
Mainland Spanish time, except Las Palmas, which uses Canary Islands time, one hour behind the mainland. In the Canaries the Sun will be lower, between 24.1° and 29.2°, and almost due east. For the altitude and time in your own town, and whether it gets totality, see Will I see it?.
Window glass is not a filter
Window glass is made to let light through. The only valid protection for looking straight at the Sun is a filter that meets the EN ISO 12312-2 standard, as the IGN, the AAS (American Astronomical Society) and NASA say, and the AAS adds that ordinary sunglasses are no good either, however dark they are. Nova Scotia Health, the health authority of the Canadian province, says so explicitly about cars in its eclipse safety sheet: side windows and windscreens, even tinted ones, don’t give enough protection to look at it.
With your eclipse glasses on, the glass makes no difference to safety. What it does is spoil the view with reflections and dirt, so open the window or step out onto the balcony if you can.
Outside the path of totality the eclipse is partial from start to finish, as in every city in the table except Málaga, and the glasses stay on the whole time.
If you can’t see the Sun from home
You can watch it without looking at it. The IGN suggests projecting the Sun’s image onto a wall or the ceiling with a hand mirror covered by a piece of paper with a half-centimetre hole cut in it: a disc appears on the wall with a bite taken out of it that keeps growing. The AAS suggests a colander or the shade of a leafy tree, which fill the ground with crescent-shaped suns. Never look at the Sun through the hole. And there is always the live stream.
From the car
Not while you’re driving. For last summer’s eclipse, the DGT (Spain’s traffic authority) asked drivers not to look directly at the Sun or wear eclipse glasses at the wheel, and Nova Scotia Health explains why: with them on, your vision is severely restricted. Stopping on the hard shoulder won’t do either. If the eclipse catches you on the road, leave it, park where it is allowed and watch it outside the car with your glasses on; there is more in can you drive during the eclipse?.
If you live inside the path
In the 105 towns with totality, home also works for the big moment: in Málaga, from a terrace facing east, the glasses come off at 10:48:08 and go back on at 10:49:51, the safe times between ours and the IGN’s. The rest of the time, keep the filter on.
If there are several of you at home, either everyone has their own glasses or you pass them round: as the AAS points out, the partial phases move slowly. On Order your glasses you can ask for ours: cardboard, with the EN ISO 12312-2 certificate, along with the phone filter and packs for groups. We reply with the price and the delivery time.
Sources: IGN — Cómo observar los eclipses (in Spanish: projection with a covered mirror and a hole onto a wall or the ceiling); IGN — Recomendaciones prácticas (in Spanish: visit your spot a few days beforehand to check for obstacles); AAS — How to View a Solar Eclipse Safely (only EN ISO 12312-2 filters; sunglasses are not safe; projection with a colander or trees; the partial phases move slowly and glasses can be shared); NASA — Eclipse Viewing Safety (the ISO 12312-2 standard; don’t look through the hole); Nova Scotia Health — Solar Eclipse Safety (side windows and windscreens, even tinted, don’t protect; don’t drive with eclipse glasses); DGT, Spain’s traffic authority — advice for last summer’s eclipse (in Spanish: don’t look at the Sun or wear eclipse glasses at the wheel; don’t stop on the hard shoulder); altitude, azimuth, percentage and times: eclipseando data (skyfield engine + DE440s) checked against the IGN’s times.
If you would like something to keep from the eclipse, the shop prints T-shirts, mugs and posters with the name of your town, the time of its maximum and its seconds of totality. See the merchandise →
Remember: never look at the Sun without proper eye protection (filters made to EN ISO 12312-2). The official reference for safe viewing in Spain is the IGN (in Spanish): eclipses.ign.es.