Safety First!

A total solar eclipse is not safe to look at with the naked eye except during the few brief seconds or minutes of total eclipse, when the Sun itself is completely obscured by the Moon. At all other times, you must use proper solar viewing protection. For more information, see our eye safety page.

Timezone / Date

You have not selected a timezone for eclipse timings, so all times are shown in UT (essentially GMT).

Accuracy

Due to the erratic rotation of the Earth, the time and location of the eclipse cannot be forecast perfectly. This eclipse's forecast is estimated to be accurate to within 2km in distance and a few seconds in time.

A total eclipse of the Sun occurs on Wednesday 12 August, 2026 UT, lasting from 15:34–19:57 UT. A dramatic total eclipse will plunge the Sun into darkness for 2 minutes and 18 seconds at maximum, creating an amazing spectacle for observers in a very broad path, 294 km wide at maximum. It will be seen north-eastern Greenland, west Iceland, Spain, and the Balearics. The partial eclipse will be visible Canada and parts of the northern US, and western Europe and north Africa.

The timings of the phases of the overall eclipse worldwide are as follows. In any particular place it will be seen for a significantly shorter duration as the shadow moves across the Earth:

Partial eclipse begins: 15:34:01 UT
Total eclipse begins: 16:57:54 UT
Maximum eclipse: 17:45:44 UT
Total eclipse ends: 18:33:57 UT
Partial eclipse ends: 19:57:48 UT

During this eclipse the Sun will be 0.526° in apparent diameter, 1.3% smaller than average. The Moon will be just 2 days past perigee, making it relatively large. At the start and end of the eclipse the Moon will be 0.542°, and at maximum eclipse 0.547°, which is 2.9% larger than average; hence it will cover the Sun, making this a total eclipse. The statistics page has information on the ranges of the sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

The North

The total eclipse path starts on the far northern coast of Siberia, then crosses the Arctic ocean, reaching the northern coast of Greenland at 17:16 UT. It passes down eastern Greenland, and then crosses over to Iceland, with the path of totality hitting the north-west coast around 17:44 UT. The centre line does not touch Iceland, but viewers down the west coast should still see a memorable total eclipse; Reykjavik is too far to the east to see more than a few seconds of totality, however, so getting as far west as possible is the best course.

Spain

The total eclipse leaves Iceland about 17:50 UT, then skirts around the British Isles to reach Spain's northern coast at around 18:27 UT. The centreline runs from Oveido, at 18:28 UT, to the coast of the Balearic Sea, between Barcelona and Valencia, at about 18:31 UT. It crosses right over Mallorca at around 18:32 UT and finishes in the sea just moments later.

Interactive Map

This map shows the visibility of the eclipse. The shaded area will see the total solar eclipse; however, near the edges of this area, the eclipse will be very short. The bold line shows the centre of the path, where the eclipse will last longest, so this is where you want to be if possible.

Use the zoom controls to zoom in and out; hover your mouse over any point on the centreline to see the time and duration of the eclipse at that point. You can pan and zoom the map to see detail for any part of the eclipse path.

The interactive map is currently not available.

Overview Map

This map sourced from NASA Goddard Space flight Center: GSFC Eclipse Web SiteGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html shows the visibility of the total solar eclipse. It also shows the broader area in which a partial eclipse will be seen. (Click on it for the full-sized version.)

Eclipse Season and Saros Series

This eclipse season contains 2 eclipses:

This is the 48th eclipse in solar Saros series 126.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:

This Saros series, solar Saros series 126, is linked to lunar Saros series 119. The nearest partner eclipses in that series are:

Eclipse Parameters

UT Date/time (max) 17:45:51 on 12 Aug UT TDT Date/time (max) 17:47:06 on 12 Aug TDT
Saros Series 126 Number in Series 48
Penumbral Magnitiude Central Magnitiude 1.0386
Gamma 0.8977 Path Width (km) 294
Delta T 1m15s Error ± 0m09s (95%)
Penumbral Duration Partial Duration
Total Duration 2m18s
Partial Rating major Total Rating travel
Sun Distance 151586229 km (92.9%) Moon Distance 366979 km (21.0%)
Sun Diameter 0.526° Moon Diameter 0.542° - 0.547°
Perigee 11:19 on 10 Aug UT Apogee 08:21 on 22 Aug UT
Contact p1 15:34:01 on 12 Aug UT Contact p2
Contact u1 16:57:54 on 12 Aug UT Contact u2 17:01:55 on 12 Aug UT
Max eclipse 17:45:44 on 12 Aug UT
Contact u3 18:30:01 on 12 Aug UT Contact u4 18:33:57 on 12 Aug UT
Contact p3 Contact p4 19:57:48 on 12 Aug UT

Note that while all dates and times on this site (except where noted) are in UT, which is within a second of civil time, the dates and times shown in NASA's eclipse listingsGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html are in the TDT timescale.

The Sun and Moon distances are shown in km, and as a percentage of their minimum - maximum distances; hence 0% is the closest possible (Earth's perihelion, or the Moon's closest possible perigee) and 100% is the farthest (aphelion, the farthest apogee). The statistics page has information on the ranges of sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

Data last updated: 2015-09-17 04:54:30 UTC.