Total solar eclipse to cross Spain on Aug. 12, a first in over a century

A total solar eclipse will sweep across eastern Greenland, western Iceland, and mainland Spain on Wednesday, Aug. 12 — the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Spain in over a century. The event has mobilized space agencies, research teams, and millions of skywatchers across the Northern Hemisphere.

Path of Totality and Timing

Starting near the North Pole, the moon's shadow will race along a 5,130-mile course, most of it over the open Atlantic, before reaching land in Greenland, Iceland, and finally Spain close to sunset. Maximum totality will last up to two minutes and 18 seconds off Iceland's west coast. By the time the shadow reaches Spain, totality will dwindle to roughly one minute.kob+2

According to NASA, totality will occur in mid-afternoon for Greenland and Iceland, while Spain will experience the sun going dark in the late evening, shortly before sunset. The spectacle will end over the Mediterranean.science.nasa+1

A partial eclipse will be visible far beyond the path of totality — across much of Europe, Canada, the northern United States, West Africa, Alaska, and Siberia. Dublin will see 94% of the sun obscured, London 91%, and Oslo 83%. In the UK, this will be the largest solar eclipse since 1999. In North America, coverage will range from 37% in Fairbanks, Alaska, to 9% in New York.dailysabah+3

Scientific Campaigns and Live Coverage

The eclipse has triggered an array of scientific missions. More than 60 high-altitude balloons will launch from Spain and Iceland as part of a NASA-funded project led by Montana State University's Angela Des Jardins, measuring atmospheric changes during totality. A NASA WB-57 high-altitude jet, equipped with four cameras recording in nine wavelengths, will chase the moon's shadow at 460 mph, extending totality to nearly three minutes for onboard instruments.dailysabah+2

The European Space Agency will host a live webcast from Spain's Astrophysical Observatory of Javalambre and a public celebration in León. NASA will also livestream the event beginning at 1:15 p.m. EDT. "It's a real human connection between us with our feet planted on the Earth and the cosmos," said ESA's director of science Carole Mundell.kob+2

A Celestial Triple Feature for Spain

Spain's last mainland total solar eclipse occurred in 1912, and some astronomers consider 1905 the country's last full-duration totality event. The Aug. 12 eclipse marks the beginning of an extraordinary sequence: on Aug. 2, 2027, an even longer total solar eclipse lasting up to six minutes and 23 seconds will cross southern Spain into North Africa, followed by an annular "ring of fire" eclipse on Jan. 26, 2028.english.elpais+2

Adding to the spectacle, Aug. 12 will also feature a six-planet alignment visible before dawn and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower after nightfall under a new moon. Certified eclipse glasses meeting ISO 12312-2 standards are essential for viewing any partial phase.kob+3