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.
Preparing the sky at your location…
The event
Europe's first total solar eclipse in 27 years
On August 12, 2026 the Moon's shadow reaches Gijón: at 20:27:41 local time the Sun — hanging just 10° above the horizon — disappears for 1m 45s. Every contact time below is the published local table for Gijón; the simulation follows it exactly.
Timeline
Local circumstances for Gijón
First contact19:31:04
Second contact20:26:49
Greatest eclipse20:27:41
Third contact20:28:34
Fourth contact21:20:46
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
The complete arc
Gijón sees the eclipse through to the end: the Moon leaves the disc at 21:20:46 local, with the Sun still above the horizon.
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 Gijón
1m 45s · magnitude 1.0127
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 Gijón
- 1m 45s · magnitude 1.0127
- 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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