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Solar Eclipse — August 12, 2026

The first total solar eclipse over mainland Europe since 1999 — totality across Iceland and northern Spain, a deep 90-98% partial over France — all at sunset.
Eclipse over
This eclipse took place on August 12, 2026. The times below are the ones we computed in advance (ephemerides), not measurements made on the day.
Next big eclipse: the total solar eclipse of August 2, 2027. The path of totality will cross the southern tip of Spain and northern Morocco, then Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia, with up to about 6 min 22 s of totality near Luxor (Egypt). From France it will be partial. Source: NASA Eclipse Web Site (F. Espenak).
⚠️ Never look at the Sun without certified protection. Even at 98% coverage, the remaining crescent burns the retina painlessly and irreversibly. ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses for all partial phases — or indirect projection (pinhole, colander, tree foliage). Binoculars, cameras and telescopes without dedicated solar filters destroy eyesight in a fraction of a second. The corona may be viewed unprotected only during full totality, inside the path.

The path of totality: Iceland → northern Spain

After eastern Greenland and western Iceland, the shadow crossed the Atlantic and swept northern Spain in the early evening — Basque Country, Navarra, Aragón, Catalonia, ending near the Balearic Islands — with up to ~2 minutes of totality, the Sun hanging just above the western horizon.

Totality, city by city (Spain & Iceland)

Inside the path the Sun disappeared entirely: sudden night in daytime, the corona visible to the naked eye — during totality only. Times in CEST:

CityTotality aroundDurationSun altitude
Reykjavik19:49~1–2 min24°
A Coruna20:28~2 min12°
Oviedo20:28~1–2 min10°
Bilbao20:28path edge — a few seconds at best8°
Zaragoza20:30~1–2 min6°
Valencia20:33~1–2 min4°
Palma de Mallorca20:32~1–2 min3°

Same JPL ephemerides, one-minute sampling: exact durations (up to ~2 min depending on your position inside the path) require second-level precision. Bilbao illustrates the path edge: magnitude exactly 1.000 — totality there is decided within a few kilometres.

France: a spectacular deep partial (times in CEST)

CityBeginsMaximumEndsSun coveredSun altitude at max.
Toulouse19:3220:26sets eclipsed (21:05)98%6°
Bordeaux19:3020:25sets eclipsed (21:16)98%7°
Marseille19:3220:25sets eclipsed (20:48)97%3°
Rodez19:3120:25sets eclipsed (21:02)96%5°
Brest19:2320:1921:1396%12°
Lyon19:2820:22sets eclipsed (20:56)94%5°
Paris19:2320:1721:1092%8°
Lille19:2020:1421:0790%8°
Strasbourg19:2320:16sets eclipsed (20:52)90%4°

Times computed by Vigi-Sky from JPL Horizons topocentric ephemerides (atmospheric refraction included), rounded to the minute. Obscuration is the fraction of the Sun's area covered at maximum.

What made this eclipse unusual: in most French cities the Sun set while still eclipsed — a crescent sinking into the horizon.

During an eclipse, with the Vigi-Sky tools

Page updated September 27, 2026 (eclipse over, pointer to August 2, 2027) · Vigi-Sky