Solar eclipse tracker: What time will it hit your location on August 12?

On August 12, 2026, the moon's shadow will traverse from the Arctic region, crossing through Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, obscuring the sun for a duration of up to two minutes and eighteen seconds. This marks the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Europe since 1999, with approximately 15 million people, primarily in Spain, situated within the path of totality.

A partial eclipse will be observable across a wider area, including Western Europe, parts of Northwestern Africa, and a small section of the United States. Altogether, around 980 million people, nearly one-eighth of the global population, can witness the moon partially covering the sun. This leaves seven-eighths of the world's inhabitants under normal daylight conditions on that day.

To determine if the moon's shadow will pass over your specific location, enter your area into the provided tool to view the path and the extent of solar coverage. An eclipse occurs when a celestial body, in this case, the moon, passes through the shadow cast by another celestial body, the Earth.

In a lunar eclipse, Earth's shadow falls upon the moon, while in a solar eclipse, the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, blocking the latter's light. Depending on the alignment, four types of eclipses can occur: partial, annular, total, or hybrid. The sun is roughly 400 times larger than the moon yet situated approximately 400 times farther away, which allows the moon's disc to appear almost identical in size to the sun from Earth's perspective. This phenomenon enables the occurrence of total solar eclipses.

NASA reports that between two to five solar eclipses are visible from Earth each year, encompassing all four eclipse types: partial, annular, total, and hybrid. Total solar eclipses are comparatively rare, occurring an average of 66 times per century, or approximately once every 1.5 years.

Of the total solar eclipses, about one-third are partial, another third annular, slightly over a quarter are total, and approximately 5 percent are hybrid. On August 12, about 15 million individuals in Spain, Iceland, and sections of Greenland, Russia, and Portugal will be within the path of totality, experiencing complete solar obstruction.

In northern and eastern Spain, cities such as Leon, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Teruel, and Valencia fall within this path of totality. Although Madrid and Barcelona lie just outside the totality band, residents can still witness over 99 percent solar coverage.

The partial eclipse will be visible in a broader region, encompassing most of Europe, with the sun partially covered during sunset in several cities. In Paris, 92 percent of the sun will be obscured, while in London, it will be 91 percent, and in Berlin, the coverage will be 85 percent. For cities situated further east, the sun will set before the eclipse reaches its peak, meaning the most intense phase of the eclipse will not be visible.

Similarly, North Africa will experience a similar scenario, with Algiers and Casablanca observing 98 percent and 87 percent coverage, respectively, but the sun setting before the eclipse concludes.

In North America, the eclipse will occur in the morning and afternoon, avoiding the issue of sunset. However, North America is located far from the path of totality, resulting in only a partial eclipse. In Canada, the northeastern city of St. John's will experience 53 percent solar coverage, while Montreal and Toronto will see 18 percent and 8 percent coverage, respectively.

In the United States, parts of Alaska will witness the deepest eclipse at approximately 37 percent, while the rest of the country will experience a shallow eclipse, ranging from 28 percent in northeastern Maine to just 10 percent in New York and minimal coverage in the Midwest.

The subsequent total solar eclipse will take place on August 2, 2027, traversing southern Spain, North Africa, and Yemen. To find out when the next eclipse will be visible in your city, utilize the provided widget.