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 Palma de Mallorca: at 20:31:54 local time the Sun — hanging just 3° above the horizon — disappears for 1m 36s. Every contact time below is the published local table for Palma de Mallorca; the simulation follows it exactly.
Timeline
Local circumstances for Palma de Mallorca
First contact19:38:05
Second contact20:31:06
Greatest eclipse20:31:54
Third contact20:32:42
Sunset20:49:23
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 Palma de Mallorca the show never fully ends: the Sun sets at 20:49:23 still carrying a small bite.
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 Palma de Mallorca
1m 36s · magnitude 1.0152
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 Palma de Mallorca
- 1m 36s · magnitude 1.0152
- 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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