Total solar eclipse — Iceland & Spain
The first total eclipse over mainland Europe since 1999, sweeping Greenland, Iceland and Spain. From Madrid the eclipsed Sun hangs low near sunset.
📍 Visible from where you are right now — computed in your browser
bearing · altitude · rise time · best time tonight
The moment of Total solar eclipse — Iceland & Spain: https://nowsky.org/e/solar-eclipse-2026 — opens at the right place and time, replayable, no login.
Available views: Orbit ✓ · Sky ✓
The story
The total eclipse of 12 August 2026 is mainland Europe's first since August 1999. The shadow starts in the Arctic Ocean, crosses eastern Greenland and western Iceland, spans the Atlantic and comes ashore in northern Spain just before sunset. Greatest eclipse, 2 minutes 18 seconds, falls over the sea west of Iceland at 17:46 UT.
Spain is the face of this eclipse. The path enters over the Galician and Asturian coast, crosses Burgos, Zaragoza and northern Valencia, and leaves via Mallorca. Madrid sits just inside the southern edge and gets roughly 1 minute 40 seconds of totality around 20:30, with the Sun below 10 degrees in the western sky — the composition photographers call a sunset eclipse.
Reykjavík has a little over a minute of totality around 17:48 with the Sun about 25 degrees high. Eastern Greenland is nearly uninhabited and western Iceland is cloudy even in August, so Spain's clear-sky odds pull most observers south. Paris, London, Rome and most of Europe see a deep partial of 80–95%.
For Spain this opens three consecutive years of central eclipses: the total of 2 August 2027 in the south and the annular of 26 January 2028. The sky replay shows the low black Sun above Madrid's western horizon; switch the location to Reykjavík for the higher afternoon sky. Within a single city the line between total and partial can fall street by street, so real planning needs a precise path map.
Why it matters
A low-altitude totality creates rare conditions. With the Sun near the horizon the corona and the landscape share one frame, and the whole western sky can be watched darkening as the shadow approaches. The cost is a thick column of air that blurs the image, and a single low hill can block the view.
Scientifically it is a European chance to observe the corona just after solar maximum. Comparing it with the April 2024 North American eclipse and the August 2027 Egyptian one captures how the magnetic structure changes from maximum into the declining phase at two-year steps.
As Europe's first totality in 27 years it is expected to draw a large public audience; Spanish authorities and astronomers have prepared guidance and safety campaigns covering all three eclipses of 2026–2028.
How to watch
Totality track: eastern Greenland (16:00s UT) → western Iceland and Reykjavík (17:48 UT, 25° high) → Atlantic → Galicia and Asturias (20:27 CEST) → Burgos and Zaragoza → the southern edge at Madrid (around 20:30 CEST, under 10° high) → northern Valencia → Mallorca just before sunset. Partial phases across most of Europe, North Africa and eastern North America. Not visible from Korea.
In Spain an unobstructed western horizon is essential — with the Sun so low, one building, hill or tree decides the view, and west-facing coasts or plains are best. Filters come off during totality but the partial phases before and after need certified glasses; a low Sun is no dimmer.
The sky replay tracks the Sun over Madrid and slows near maximum. Set any latitude and longitude to compare durations along the path, or switch to Reykjavík for the higher afternoon sky.
See this for yourself — open that sky at that moment · replay the moment in the orbit view
Background
The eclipse is the 48th of Saros 126. Its predecessor on 1 August 2008 crossed Russia and China; its successor on 23 August 2044 crosses western Canada and Montana.
Mainland Europe's previous totality was 11 August 1999, from Cornwall to Romania and Turkey. Turkey in March 2006 and the Faroe Islands in March 2015 followed, but this is the first path over major continental cities in 27 years.
Spain gets central eclipses three years running — total in 2026 and 2027, annular in 2028. A single country inside three consecutive central paths is unusual, and it makes Iberia the hub of eclipse travel in the late 2020s.
FAQ
How long is totality in Madrid?
About 1 minute 40 seconds around 20:30, with the Sun under 10 degrees — an open western horizon is required.
Where is the eclipse greatest?
Over the sea west of Iceland, at 2 minutes 18 seconds; on land western Iceland comes closest at about two minutes.
Is it visible from Korea?
No — it is early morning in Korea and the path lies over Europe and the North Atlantic.
When is Spain's next eclipse?
The total of 2 August 2027 in the south and the annular of 26 January 2028 — three years in a row.
Related
- The 2027 total eclipse — Egypt and southern Spain
- The 2028 annular over Iberia
- The 1999 European total eclipse
- The Sun — object index
- The Moon — object index
Times and figures are approximate — verify with official sources when planning travel. Simulation uses J2000 mean elements.