A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, August 12, 2026,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0386. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 2.2 days after perigee (on August 10, 2026, at 12:15 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.[2]
The total eclipse will pass over northern Spain from the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean coast as well as the Balearic Islands. The total eclipse will be visible from the cities of A Coruña, Valencia, Zaragoza, Palma and Bilbao, but both Madrid and Barcelona will be just outside the path of totality.[4]
The last total solar eclipse in continental Europe occurred on August 11, 1999.[5] It will be the first total solar eclipse visible in Iceland since June 30, 1954, also Solar Saros series 126 (descending node), and the only one to occur in the 21st century as the next one visible over Iceland will be in 2196. The last total solar eclipse in Spain happened on August 30, 1905 and followed a similar path across the country. The next total eclipse visible in Spain will happen less than a year later on August 2, 2027.[6]
Circumstances
The eclipse path proceeds from North Siberia throughout the Arctic Region, Iceland, eastern Atlantic to Spain and the Mediterranean.
Solar eclipse and the aurora borealis
In the North Russia area where totality will begin at sunrise, the aurora borealis could also be visible up to the beginning of the nautical twilight, depending on the intensity of the auroral activity at that date. If an extremely high intensity geomagnetic storm takes place simultaneously, there might be chances of seeing the aurora simultaneously with the eclipsed Sun. In the east of Taymyr Peninsula (north-east of Krasnoyarsk Krai) the maximum of total phase will occur on August 13 at 0:00 local time during midnight sun.[7]
Solar eclipse below the horizon
Due to the considerable eclipse gamma (more than 0.8), observers where the totally eclipsed Sun is just below the horizon will have the chance to observe the lunar shadow in the high atmosphere, as well as shortened civil twilight and extended nautical twilight. The darkening of the twilight sky could improve the chances of observing the inner Zodiacal light.[8]
Bright planets and stars visible during totality
Far northern Russia will be treated to a dawn eclipse. Mercury and Jupiter will be very low above the rising eclipsed Sun, but Mercury will be showing most of its sunlit side and Jupiter will have its usual brightness. Mars and Saturn will be more advantageously placed in the northeast and southeast respectively. Of the bright asterisms, the Big Dipper will be very high in the north-northwest and the Summer Triangle will be high in the southwest. Aldebaran, Arcturus, Capella and Pollux are other first-magnitude stars which may be seen, although they will be low.
In Iceland the eclipse will be a mid-afternoon event occurring about 4 hours before sunset, it will start in Reykjavik at around 2:04 PM, with the total eclipse occurring at 3:15 PM.[9]Mars may be a challenge to find, because it will be low in the west. Mercury and Jupiter will be well positioned west of the Sun and Venus will be many degrees to its east. Of 1st-magnitude stars from west to east, Capella and Pollux will be at decent elevations west of the Sun; Regulus, Spica (due south), Arcturus, Vega and Deneb are candidates for easy sighting to the Sun's east. Procyon will be about to set, while Altair will be low on the opposite side.
In Spain the eclipse will occur about 1 hour before sunset. Mercury and Jupiter, west of the eclipsed Sun, will therefore be very low below it. Venus will be brilliant well up in the southwest, with Spica to its east. Arcturus will be high in the south, and the Summer Triangle will be well up in the east. Lower in the south, Antares will be minutes away from transit.[10]
Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[11]
This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.[12]
This eclipse is a part of Saros series 126, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on March 10, 1179. It contains annular eclipses from June 4, 1323 through April 4, 1810; hybrid eclipses from April 14, 1828 through May 6, 1864; and total eclipses from May 17, 1882 through August 23, 2044. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on May 3, 2459. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of annularity was produced by member 11 at 6 minutes, 30 seconds on June 26, 1359, and the longest duration of totality was produced by member 45 at 2 minutes, 36 seconds on July 10, 1972. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[13]
The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.
22 eclipse events between June 1, 2011 and October 24, 2098
This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
^Guliaev, R. A. (1992). "On a possible use of total solar eclipse below the horizon for observations of the inner zodiacal light (as applied to the eclipse of 30 June, 1992)". Solar Physics. 138 (1): 209–211. Bibcode:1992SoPh..138..209G. doi:10.1007/BF00146206. S2CID122443822.
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