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

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that a solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, will be visible to a wide area, with nearly one billion people able to see at least a partial eclipse and about 15 million people in the path of totality. The eclipse begins at 15:34 GMT and the moon’s shadow is expected to move from the Arctic across Greenland, Iceland and Spain, where the best viewing in Europe will be concentrated.

The article says mainland Europe will see its first total solar eclipse since 1999. In Spain, cities including León, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Teruel and Valencia are within the totality zone, while Madrid and Barcelona are just outside it but should still experience more than 99 percent coverage. Al Jazeera also notes that parts of Greenland, Iceland, Russia and Portugal fall within the path of totality, with totality in western Spain starting around 18:27 GMT and lasting up to 110 seconds depending on location.

A broader partial eclipse will be visible across much of Western Europe, parts of northwestern Africa and a small part of the United States. The report cites especially strong partial coverage in cities such as Paris, London and Berlin, while North American locations will see a more limited event. The piece also provides background on how solar eclipses occur and notes that total eclipses are much less common than partial ones.

The eclipse matters because it is a rare astronomical event with a large viewing footprint and a narrow band of totality that can draw attention from scientists, observers and the public alike. Al Jazeera says the next total solar eclipse will occur on August 2, 2027, crossing southern Spain, North Africa and Yemen.