Total solar eclipse 12 August 2026 – Global map

On 12 August 2026, a total solar eclipse will be visible from eastern Greenland, western Iceland, the northern half of Spain and the northeast corner of Portugal. During ‘totality’, the Moon completely covers the Sun, leaving viewers in daytime darkness and revealing the Sun's faintly glowing corona (outer atmosphere). Most of the rest of Europe, northern North America and western Africa will witness a partial solar eclipse.  

This map shows where a total (red) and the partial (orange) eclipse will be visible across Earth’s northern hemisphere. The eclipse will follow the red band of totality counterclockwise from the top to the bottom. Interestingly, this eclipse starts around midnight in the Arctic, made possible thanks to midnight Sun, and traces out a path that initially moves west-to-east (‘back in time’) before moving in the usual east-to-west direction. Click here to see a map of totality in Spain. 

The European Space Agency (ESA) obtained these maps from the Spanish National Geographic Institute, based on calculations from the Spanish Astronomical Observatory.  

This eclipse will be followed by two more ‘European solar eclipses’. On 2 August 2027, a total solar eclipse is visible from Spain, northern Africa and the Middle East. And on 26 January 2028, an annular eclipse can be seen from South America, Portugal and Spain. Other parts of Europe will witness a partial eclipse on these dates.   

For more information on ESA’s activities for these eclipses, please visit www.esa.int/solareclipse.  

Remember: never look directly at the Sun, even when partially eclipsed, without proper eye protection such as special solar eclipse glasses, or you risk permanent eye damage. 

[Image description: Map of Earth shown as a globe, with the focus on its northern hemisphere. A red, C-shaped arc marked 'total eclipse' reaches from northeast Russia, past the North Pole, Greenland, Iceland and the Iberian Peninsula. An orange oval surrounds this arc, marked 'partial eclipse', covering most of Europe, Canada and parts of the USA, the western edge of Africa and the northeastern corner of Russia.]