\n<\/p>\n
The Moon\u2019s umbral shadow will begin its path in far northern Siberia, cross the Arctic and northeastern Greenland, pass over western Iceland and the North Atlantic, and enter northern Spain from the Atlantic coast. A small area of northeastern Portugal will also lie inside the totality corridor, while much of Europe, northwestern Africa, Canada, Alaska, and parts of the northern contiguous United States will experience a partial eclipse.<\/p>\n
Greenland\u2019s populated western coast lies outside the totality path. Nuuk will experience a 79% partial eclipse, while the path of totality crosses a remote section of northeastern Greenland before continuing toward Iceland.<\/p>\n
Totality will reach Reykjav\u00edk at approximately 17:48 UTC and last about one minute. The Sun will stand higher above the horizon in western Iceland than it will later in eastern Spain and the Balearic Islands, giving Icelandic observers a less restricted viewing angle but leaving the event highly dependent on local cloud conditions.<\/p>\n
The lunar shadow will enter mainland Spain shortly before 18:30 UTC. Totality in Le\u00f3n will occur at approximately 18:28\u201318:30 UTC, followed by Zaragoza at approximately 18:29\u201318:30 UTC and Valencia at approximately 18:32\u201318:33 UTC. The partial phase will continue until sunset in Zaragoza, Valencia, and several locations farther east.<\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s Instituto Geogr\u00e1fico Nacional said the eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the Iberian Peninsula in more than a century. The path will cross areas including A Coru\u00f1a, Oviedo, Le\u00f3n, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Valencia, and Palma, placing much of northern Spain inside the totality corridor.<\/p>\n
The Sun\u2019s altitude will decrease along the Spanish path. In A Coru\u00f1a, maximum eclipse will occur at approximately 18:28 UTC, with 76 seconds of totality and the Sun 12\u00b0 above the horizon. Burgos will receive about 104 seconds of totality with the Sun 8\u00b0 high, while maximum eclipse in Palma will occur near 18:32 UTC with the Sun only about 2\u00b0 above the horizon.<\/p>\n
The low solar altitude will make an unobstructed western horizon essential in eastern Spain and the Balearic Islands. Hills, buildings, trees, haze, marine cloud, or a narrow cloud bank near the horizon could block the eclipsed Sun even where most of the sky remains clear.<\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s State Meteorological Agency has analyzed historical cloud conditions for August 11\u201313 between 17:00 and 20:00 UTC using data from 2010 to 2025. Clear or mostly clear skies occurred during approximately 30\u201350% of the sampled periods along the northern coasts of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, and the Basque Country, compared with approximately 50\u201370% across much of inland Castilla y Le\u00f3n, Castilla-La Mancha, and the Ebro Valley.<\/p>\n
Those figures describe past conditions rather than the weather expected on August 12. Afternoon convective cloud can still develop inland, while coastal areas may be affected by low cloud and marine haze. Eastern Spain and the Balearic Islands face the additional difficulty of observing the eclipse with the Sun very close to the western horizon.<\/p>\n
NASA\u00a0plans to begin its official eclipse programme at 17:15 UTC, with views from Iceland and Spain and commentary from specialists as the lunar shadow crosses the North Atlantic into the Iberian Peninsula.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0European Space Agency will begin an English-language broadcast from the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory in Teruel at approximately 17:30 UTC, while the\u00a0Exploratorium\u00a0will stream telescope views from Villalibado, Spain. The\u00a0Royal Observatory Greenwich\u00a0will cover the deep partial eclipse from London, and\u00a0Timeanddate\u00a0will provide multi-location coverage from observers inside and outside the totality corridor.<\/p>\n
Spain has selected\u00a0Yebes Observatory\u00a0in Guadalajara as an official monitoring and media centre, providing facilities for Spanish and international media and live transmissions during the eclipse.<\/p>\n
Fixed webcams will provide a second visual layer. The west-facing\u00a0\u00cdsafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur harbour camera\u00a0could capture changing cloud, harbour illumination and landscape darkening during totality, while the\u00a0Port de S\u00f3ller webcam\u00a0on Mallorca, which updates approximately every 15 minutes, could show changes in cloud cover, horizon colour and ambient light around maximum eclipse. A\u00a0Palma port webcam\u00a0offers another view of the city, marina and surrounding landscape, where changes in ambient light and the appearance of artificial lighting could be visible as the eclipse progresses.<\/p>\n
Automatic exposure, sensor blooming, image compression, cloud, and the absence of a front-mounted solar filter can prevent ordinary webcams from showing a recognizable solar disk. Their strongest contribution will be the wider environmental response rather than detailed astronomical imagery.<\/p>\n
NASA will also observe the eclipse from a WB-57 high-altitude aircraft carrying four cameras capable of recording the solar corona in visible and infrared wavelengths at a minimum rate of 20 images per second. The aircraft will fly at approximately 15.2 km (50 000 feet), above most cloud, and travel along the shadow path at about 740 km\/h (460 mph).<\/p>\n
Following the moving lunar shadow will extend the aircraft\u2019s observing time from the ground maximum of 2 minutes 18 seconds to nearly three minutes. NASA said the instruments will record coronal structures, outflows, prominences, and rapid changes while using infrared wavelengths that are partly absorbed by the lower atmosphere before reaching ground-based instruments.<\/p>\n
Two teams in Iceland will launch 80 balloons beginning 18 hours before the eclipse and continuing until eight hours afterward. Their instruments will examine changes in the atmospheric boundary layer, the lowest part of the atmosphere and the layer directly influenced by the surface.<\/p>\n
Three teams in Spain will launch six balloons carrying 360\u00b0 cameras and instruments designed to measure ozone. The cameras will image the lunar shadow from altitude, while the ozone instruments will examine how the rapid reduction in sunlight affects atmospheric chemistry during totality.<\/p>\n
A Spanish government study forecasts an influx of 446 700 tourists across 36 provinces in the totality corridor and nearby areas of interest during August 10\u201316. The government has prepared special security and civil-protection plans covering mobility, emergency response, public services, wildfire prevention, and large concentrations of observers.<\/p>\n
Officials have urged observers to plan travel and viewing sites in advance rather than moving between crowded locations immediately before totality. Regional road controls, access restrictions, wildfire rules, and emergency measures will vary by location.<\/p>\n
Solar viewers compliant with ISO 12312-2 should remain in place throughout every partial phase. Cameras, binoculars, and telescopes require a purpose-built solar filter secured over the front of the instrument, and eclipse glasses do not provide adequate protection when looking through unfiltered optics.<\/p>\n
Eye protection can be removed only during complete totality, when the bright solar surface is fully covered, and must be replaced as soon as the photosphere begins to reappear.<\/p>\n
After sunset, the Perseid meteor shower will approach its 2026 maximum under a new Moon. Spain\u2019s Instituto Geogr\u00e1fico Nacional places the strongest activity during the night of August 12\u201313, giving observers under clear, dark skies a second major skywatching event after the eclipse has ended.<\/p>\n
References:<\/p>\n
1<\/sup> Total Solar Eclipse on August 12, 2026 \u2013 NASA \u2013 July 27, 2026<\/p>\n 2<\/sup> Eclipse total de Sol del d\u00eda 12 de agosto de 2026 \u2013 Instituto Geogr\u00e1fico Nacional \u2013 accessed August 4, 2026<\/p>\n 3<\/sup> \u00bfEstar\u00e1 despejado el d\u00eda del eclipse de 2026? \u2013 Agencia Estatal de Meteorolog\u00eda \u2013 May 29, 2026<\/p>\n 4<\/sup> NASA Science Soars During August Total Solar Eclipse \u2013 NASA \u2013 July 27, 2026<\/p>\n