Michael Zeiler describes himself as an “eclipse cartographer.” You won’t believe the maps on his beautiful new website EclipseAtlas.com. Join EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd and Michael Zeiler for this view preview of the upcoming eclipse on August 12, 2026. Watch in the player above or on YouTube.
August 12, 2026, total solar eclipse
The second solar eclipse of 2026 will be a total solar eclipse on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. On this date, the new moon will cover the sun entirely. Its dark shadow will fall on Earth, blotting the sun entirely from view for observers in the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, and Spain.
At its longest, near the centerline over the North Atlantic between Greenland and Iceland, the total part of the eclipse will last 2 minutes and 18 seconds. This is a relatively short eclipse! Compare the time of totality to that of the Great North American Eclipse on April 8, 2024 (4 minutes and 28 seconds). Or compare it to the total solar eclipse of August 2, 2027 in North Africa; this eclipse will be one of the longest of the 21st century (6 minutes and 23 seconds).
A popular eclipse destination in August, 2026, will be Spain, where the eclipse will happen close to sunset. Most observers in Spain will see between about 1 minute 20 seconds and 1 minute 50 seconds of totality, depending on exactly where they are within the path of the eclipse. But the sun will be only a few degrees above the western horizon during totality, creating the possibility of a spectacular darkened landscape below the eclipsed sun.
If you’re anywhere along the path of totality, there’s a chance you’ll see a Perseid meteor shoot by during totality! That’s because the Perseid meteor shower is peaking on eclipse day. For all of us, because the moon is new that day, it’s going to be a great year for the Perseids.
The continental United States will not see any part of the August 12, 2026, total solar eclipse.
Eclipse maps from EclipseAtlas.com
Michael Zeiler at EclipseAtlas.com is an amazing resource for total solar eclipses. The maps here are just a selection of his extensive and informative collection.
Who will see the partial eclipse?
Western Europe will see a partial solar eclipse. And how about North America? Will it see any of the August 12, 2026 eclipse? Yes. The August 12, 2026 total solar eclipse will be visible as a partial eclipse from parts of Greenland and northeastern Canada. Approximate maximum obscuration (fraction of the sun’s diameter covered):
London: ~30–40%
Paris: ~45–55%
Brussels/Amsterdam: ~40–50%
Dublin: ~20–30%
Lisbon: ~70–80%
Madrid: 90%+ (outside but close to the path of totality)
Rome: ~20–30%
The farther south and west you are in Europe, the deeper the partial eclipse generally becomes. In Spain, areas just outside the path of totality will see the Sun reduced to a very thin crescent.
The eclipse barely reaches North America.
Greenland: 80–100% (totality in parts)
Northern Labrador: roughly 40–70%, depending on location
Newfoundland: generally under 30%, with northeastern parts seeing the deepest partial eclipse
Most of Canada: no eclipse
Continental U.S. (lower 48): no eclipse at all
Most of Alaska: no eclipse (only the extreme northeastern Arctic may glimpse a tiny partial eclipse)
Times of the August 12, 2026 total solar eclipse
Partial eclipse begins: at 15:34:11 UTC on August 12.
Total eclipse begins: at 16:58:05 UTC on August 12.
Greatest eclipse: at 17:45:53 UTC on August 12.
Total eclipse ends: at 18:34:05 UTC on August 12.
Partial eclipse ends: at 19:57:56 UTC on August 12.
Note: The instant of greatest eclipse – when the axis of the moon’s shadow cone passes closest to Earth’s center – takes place at 17:45:53 UTC. It’s a relatively short total eclipse with a maximum duration of totality lasting over two minutes (depending on your location).
Animations and seeing the eclipse from your location
Watch total solar eclipse animations and see maps at eclipseatlas.com
Watch an animation of the path of the annular solar eclipse at timeanddate.com
Watch an animation of the path of the annular eclipse at in-the-sky.org
Another animation of the eclipse at eclipsewise.com
Information for your location timeanddate.com
Path of totality
The path of totality begins at 17:00 UTC along the Arctic coastline. It races north and passes near the North Pole at 17:06 UTC where it has 1 minute and 54 seconds of totality.
Next it races to Greenland hitting the coastline at 17:15 UTC with 2 minutes 6 seconds of totality. Greatest eclipse – 2 minutes 18 seconds – occurs at 17:45:57 UTC near the Denmark Strait. It continues on to Ireland, Portugal and Spain. Areas in northern Spain are just inside the path of totality and will see 20 seconds of totality. It continues on over Spain to the Mediterranean coast where it finally reaches its last landfall the Balearic Islands and the eclipse ends at 18:34:05 UTC.
The eclipse path lasted over 92 minutes and covered 5,157 miles (8,300 kilometers) – or just 0.47% – of the Earth.
Remember to convert UTC to your time. Note the different between UTC and UT1. You can visit timeanddate.com to get an exact timing of the eclipse from your location. The number one rule for solar eclipse observing is to make sure you protect your eyes by using an appropriate filter.
Moon, constellation, Saros
Greatest eclipse takes place a little over one day after the moon reaches perigee, its closest point to Earth for the month. During the August 12, 2026, eclipse, the sun is located in the direction of the constellation Leo.
This eclipse has a magnitude of 1.0386.
The Saros catalog describes the periodicity of eclipses. The eclipse belongs to Saros 126. It is number 48 of 72 eclipses in the series. All eclipses in this series occur at the moon’s descending node. The moon moves northward with respect to the node with each succeeding eclipse in the series.
Next eclipse and eclipse seasons
This total solar eclipse is followed in two weeks by a partial lunar eclipse on August 27-28.
These eclipses all take place during a single eclipse season.
An eclipse season is an approximate 35-day period during which it’s inevitable for at least two (and possibly three) eclipses to take place. The first eclipse season of 2026 had two eclipses: An annular solar eclipse on February 17 and a total lunar eclipse on March 2-3.
Bottom line: On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will be visible including parts of Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, and Spain. And it’ll be visible as a partial eclipse from much of western Europe and North America.
The post The total solar eclipse of August 12, 2026 first appeared on EarthSky.
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/qLVEuYT
Michael Zeiler describes himself as an “eclipse cartographer.” You won’t believe the maps on his beautiful new website EclipseAtlas.com. Join EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd and Michael Zeiler for this view preview of the upcoming eclipse on August 12, 2026. Watch in the player above or on YouTube.
August 12, 2026, total solar eclipse
The second solar eclipse of 2026 will be a total solar eclipse on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. On this date, the new moon will cover the sun entirely. Its dark shadow will fall on Earth, blotting the sun entirely from view for observers in the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, and Spain.
At its longest, near the centerline over the North Atlantic between Greenland and Iceland, the total part of the eclipse will last 2 minutes and 18 seconds. This is a relatively short eclipse! Compare the time of totality to that of the Great North American Eclipse on April 8, 2024 (4 minutes and 28 seconds). Or compare it to the total solar eclipse of August 2, 2027 in North Africa; this eclipse will be one of the longest of the 21st century (6 minutes and 23 seconds).
A popular eclipse destination in August, 2026, will be Spain, where the eclipse will happen close to sunset. Most observers in Spain will see between about 1 minute 20 seconds and 1 minute 50 seconds of totality, depending on exactly where they are within the path of the eclipse. But the sun will be only a few degrees above the western horizon during totality, creating the possibility of a spectacular darkened landscape below the eclipsed sun.
If you’re anywhere along the path of totality, there’s a chance you’ll see a Perseid meteor shoot by during totality! That’s because the Perseid meteor shower is peaking on eclipse day. For all of us, because the moon is new that day, it’s going to be a great year for the Perseids.
The continental United States will not see any part of the August 12, 2026, total solar eclipse.
Eclipse maps from EclipseAtlas.com
Michael Zeiler at EclipseAtlas.com is an amazing resource for total solar eclipses. The maps here are just a selection of his extensive and informative collection.
Who will see the partial eclipse?
Western Europe will see a partial solar eclipse. And how about North America? Will it see any of the August 12, 2026 eclipse? Yes. The August 12, 2026 total solar eclipse will be visible as a partial eclipse from parts of Greenland and northeastern Canada. Approximate maximum obscuration (fraction of the sun’s diameter covered):
London: ~30–40%
Paris: ~45–55%
Brussels/Amsterdam: ~40–50%
Dublin: ~20–30%
Lisbon: ~70–80%
Madrid: 90%+ (outside but close to the path of totality)
Rome: ~20–30%
The farther south and west you are in Europe, the deeper the partial eclipse generally becomes. In Spain, areas just outside the path of totality will see the Sun reduced to a very thin crescent.
The eclipse barely reaches North America.
Greenland: 80–100% (totality in parts)
Northern Labrador: roughly 40–70%, depending on location
Newfoundland: generally under 30%, with northeastern parts seeing the deepest partial eclipse
Most of Canada: no eclipse
Continental U.S. (lower 48): no eclipse at all
Most of Alaska: no eclipse (only the extreme northeastern Arctic may glimpse a tiny partial eclipse)
Times of the August 12, 2026 total solar eclipse
Partial eclipse begins: at 15:34:11 UTC on August 12.
Total eclipse begins: at 16:58:05 UTC on August 12.
Greatest eclipse: at 17:45:53 UTC on August 12.
Total eclipse ends: at 18:34:05 UTC on August 12.
Partial eclipse ends: at 19:57:56 UTC on August 12.
Note: The instant of greatest eclipse – when the axis of the moon’s shadow cone passes closest to Earth’s center – takes place at 17:45:53 UTC. It’s a relatively short total eclipse with a maximum duration of totality lasting over two minutes (depending on your location).
Animations and seeing the eclipse from your location
Watch total solar eclipse animations and see maps at eclipseatlas.com
Watch an animation of the path of the annular solar eclipse at timeanddate.com
Watch an animation of the path of the annular eclipse at in-the-sky.org
Another animation of the eclipse at eclipsewise.com
Information for your location timeanddate.com
Path of totality
The path of totality begins at 17:00 UTC along the Arctic coastline. It races north and passes near the North Pole at 17:06 UTC where it has 1 minute and 54 seconds of totality.
Next it races to Greenland hitting the coastline at 17:15 UTC with 2 minutes 6 seconds of totality. Greatest eclipse – 2 minutes 18 seconds – occurs at 17:45:57 UTC near the Denmark Strait. It continues on to Ireland, Portugal and Spain. Areas in northern Spain are just inside the path of totality and will see 20 seconds of totality. It continues on over Spain to the Mediterranean coast where it finally reaches its last landfall the Balearic Islands and the eclipse ends at 18:34:05 UTC.
The eclipse path lasted over 92 minutes and covered 5,157 miles (8,300 kilometers) – or just 0.47% – of the Earth.
Remember to convert UTC to your time. Note the different between UTC and UT1. You can visit timeanddate.com to get an exact timing of the eclipse from your location. The number one rule for solar eclipse observing is to make sure you protect your eyes by using an appropriate filter.
Moon, constellation, Saros
Greatest eclipse takes place a little over one day after the moon reaches perigee, its closest point to Earth for the month. During the August 12, 2026, eclipse, the sun is located in the direction of the constellation Leo.
This eclipse has a magnitude of 1.0386.
The Saros catalog describes the periodicity of eclipses. The eclipse belongs to Saros 126. It is number 48 of 72 eclipses in the series. All eclipses in this series occur at the moon’s descending node. The moon moves northward with respect to the node with each succeeding eclipse in the series.
Next eclipse and eclipse seasons
This total solar eclipse is followed in two weeks by a partial lunar eclipse on August 27-28.
These eclipses all take place during a single eclipse season.
An eclipse season is an approximate 35-day period during which it’s inevitable for at least two (and possibly three) eclipses to take place. The first eclipse season of 2026 had two eclipses: An annular solar eclipse on February 17 and a total lunar eclipse on March 2-3.
Bottom line: On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will be visible including parts of Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, and Spain. And it’ll be visible as a partial eclipse from much of western Europe and North America.
The post The total solar eclipse of August 12, 2026 first appeared on EarthSky.
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/qLVEuYT
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