01
The dying light
Until ~90% coverage the day stays deceptively bright. Then the light turns metallic, shadows sharpen into crescents, and the western sky darkens like an approaching storm.
August 12, 2026 · Total solar eclipse
2026 Total Solar Eclipse Times, Path & 3D Simulator
Find local times, the path of totality and the best viewing locations for August 12, 2026, then simulate the eclipse from any point on Earth.
Wednesday · August 12, 2026
Russia → Greenland → Iceland → Spain → Portugal
The event
Europe's first total solar eclipse in 27 years
On August 12, 2026 the Moon's shadow races from Siberia over the Arctic, Greenland and Iceland, then sweeps across northern Spain at golden hour. From Burgos the Sun hangs just 8° above the west-northwest horizon when daylight collapses into 1 minute 44 seconds of night — the first total eclipse on the Spanish mainland since 1905.
Timeline
Local circumstances for Burgos
First contact19:33:24
Second contact20:28:27
Greatest eclipse20:29:19
Third contact20:30:10
Sunset21:20:16
Published local times (CEST). The simulation follows this timeline exactly.
Field guide
What to watch for
02
Diamond ring & Baily's beads
Seconds before totality the last sunlight bursts through lunar valleys — one blazing jewel, then a string of beads along the limb. Watch for it again at third contact.
03
The corona
Only while the Sun is fully covered does its pearly outer atmosphere appear: streamers stretching several solar radii into a suddenly deep-indigo sky.
04
The 360° sunset
Outside the umbra the Sun still shines, so every horizon glows orange at once — a sunset that wraps the entire compass, while the land goes dark.
05
Venus and the summer stars
Venus blazes in the southwest, four days from greatest elongation. Arcturus stands high in the south, and the Summer Triangle rises in the east.
06
A sunset finale
In Burgos the show never fully ends: the Sun sets at 21:20 still carrying a small bite — a crescent sinking into the Meseta.
Path of totality
From the midnight Arctic to a Spanish sunset
Totality begins at sunrise in northern Siberia, crosses the Arctic Ocean and Greenland, grazes western Iceland — its first since 1954 — then makes landfall on Spain's Atlantic coast around 20:27 local time. A Coruña, Gijón, Oviedo, Santander, Bilbao, Burgos, Zaragoza and Palma all fall inside the 294km shadow; Madrid and Barcelona sit just outside it. The shadow finally leaves Earth over the Balearic Sea at sunset.
Magnitude at greatest eclipse
1.0386
Longest totality
2m 18s · path width 294km
Totality in Burgos
1m 44s · magnitude 1.0139
Choose your sky
Where will you watch from?
Each city below gets a data-grounded 3D simulation with published local times — and inside the simulation you can drop a pin anywhere on Earth.
Totality
Burgos, Spain
1m 44s
TotalityScoresby Sund, Greenland
2m 17s
TotalityÍsafjörður, Iceland
1m 15s
TotalityReykjavík, Iceland
1m 1s
TotalityRio de Onor, Portugal
0m 47s
TotalityOviedo, Spain
1m 49s
TotalityGijón, Spain
1m 45s
TotalityA Coruña, Spain
1m 17s
TotalitySantander, Spain
1m 4s
TotalityBilbao, Spain
0m 31s
TotalityLogroño, Spain
1m 22s
TotalityValladolid, Spain
1m 27s
TotalityZaragoza, Spain
1m 25s
TotalityValencia, Spain
1m 0s
TotalityPalma de Mallorca, Spain
1m 36s
Deep partialMadrid, Spain
≈100%
Deep partialBarcelona, Spain
99.7%
Deep partialLondon, United Kingdom
91.2%
Deep partialBrighton, United Kingdom
91.7%
Deep partialManchester, United Kingdom
91.2%
Deep partialBirmingham, United Kingdom
91.5%
Deep partialEdinburgh, United Kingdom
90.5%
Deep partialGlasgow, United Kingdom
91.2%
Deep partialCardiff, United Kingdom
93.0%
Deep partialBelfast, United Kingdom
92.8%
Deep partialDublin, Ireland
93.8%
Deep partialCork, Ireland
96.2%
Deep partialGalway, Ireland
95.7%
By the numbers
Eclipse data
- Date
- Wednesday, August 12, 2026
- Type
- Total solar eclipse · Saros 126 (48 of 72)
- Greatest eclipse
- 17:45:54 UTC · 65.2°N 25.2°W (off Iceland)
- Magnitude at greatest eclipse
- 1.0386
- Longest totality
- 2m 18s · path width 294km
- Totality in Burgos
- 1m 44s · magnitude 1.0139
- Next total eclipse
- August 2, 2027 — Spain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia
Good to know
Watching it for real
Is this the real sky?
Sun position and disc geometry are calculated from real astronomy; curated Spanish contact times come from the official IGN table, while custom pins use NASA Besselian elements. The corona, brightness and landscape are illustrative, and local terrain, weather and the exact lunar limb are not predicted.
Can I look at the eclipse directly?
Only during the brief totality itself, when the Sun is completely covered. At every partial phase you need certified ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses or indirect projection. Regular sunglasses are not safe.
Where is the best place to watch?
The path of totality crosses northern Russia, eastern Greenland, western Iceland, northern Spain and a small corner of Portugal. Most of Europe sees a partial eclipse; Madrid remains just outside the totality path.
What if I miss it?
Spain gets a second chance on August 2, 2027, and an annular eclipse on January 26, 2028. After that, mainland Europe waits until 2090.
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