On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse swept across the North Atlantic and Europe, offering a spectacular celestial show. The path of totality began at sunrise in northern Russia, then moved across Greenland, Iceland, and the northern Atlantic Ocean, before making landfall in northern Spain in the late morning local time.
According to NASA and timeanddate.com, the eclipse reached totality in Iceland around 17:30 UTC, with Reykjavik experiencing about 1 minute and 40 seconds of darkness. In Spain, the shadow arrived on the northern coast around 19:30 UTC (21:30 local time in the Canary Islands, but on the mainland it was about 20:30 local time). The city of A Coruña saw totality at approximately 20:28 local time (18:28 UTC), lasting about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Valencia, further east, experienced totality at 20:38 local time (18:38 UTC) for about 1 minute and 20 seconds.
The eclipse was the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Spain since 1905, and the last until 2027. In Iceland, it was the first total solar eclipse since 1954. The path of totality was about 200 kilometers wide, and the maximum duration of totality was 2 minutes and 18 seconds, occurring in the Atlantic Ocean west of Iceland.
Observers outside the path of totality saw a partial eclipse, with the moon covering a significant portion of the sun. In the UK, for example, London saw about 30% coverage, while Edinburgh saw about 40%. The next total solar eclipse visible from Europe will occur on August 2, 2027, passing through Spain and North Africa.
