A total solar eclipse will traverse Spain, Iceland, and Greenland on August 12, marking a significant astronomical event for the regions. This will be the first total solar eclipse to be visible from mainland Spain in over a century. The celestial alignment, where the sun, moon, and Earth align perfectly, will cause daytime darkness for up to two minutes and 18 seconds along its path.
Path and Visibility
The eclipse's umbra, the moon's shadow, will travel approximately 5,130 miles. While maximum totality will occur off Iceland's west coast, the shadow will dwindle to about a minute as it reaches Portugal and Spain. The spectacle will conclude over the Mediterranean.
A partial eclipse will be visible to hundreds of millions more across a wider area, including Canada, the northern United States, and much of Europe and West Africa. Coverage will range from 94% in Dublin to 83% in Oslo, with smaller percentages visible further south, such as 18% in Montreal and 9% in New York.
Complementary Celestial Events
Adding to the cosmic spectacle, the day of the eclipse will feature a six-planet alignment in the pre-dawn sky. Following the eclipse, the Perseid meteor shower is expected to peak after nightfall, potentially with meteors appearing against the backdrop of visible planets and stars during the new moon.
Scientific Observation Efforts
Scientific research teams are preparing to study the eclipse. U.S. college teams are launching over 60 high-altitude balloons from Spain and Iceland to investigate changes in Earth's atmosphere during the eclipse, particularly the temporary drop in temperature. This effort is significantly larger than the balloon launches during the 2024 North American eclipse.
A research flight aboard a NASA high-altitude plane will also observe the sun's corona in nine wavelengths, extending the duration of totality for the observers to nearly three minutes. Scientists anticipate collecting thousands of images from multiple cameras during this short but scientifically valuable period.
Future Eclipses
Following this August's event, an even longer total solar eclipse is anticipated on August 2, 2027. This eclipse will offer up to six minutes and 23 seconds of totality and will be visible across North Africa and the Middle East, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Somalia.
Spain is also slated to experience a "ring-of-fire" eclipse on January 26, 2028. The last total solar eclipse visible from mainland Spain, excluding the Canary Islands, occurred in 1912. Some consider a 1905 eclipse to be Spain's last full solar eclipse experience, as the 1912 event was a hybrid eclipse that toggled between a ring-of-fire and brief totality.