A total solar eclipse is set to happen next month, but not everyone in the world will be able to see it. A total solar eclipse will soon take place across Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, Spain, a part of Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean, according to NASA. S. Alaska to North Carolina, will be able to experience a partial solar eclipse, along with Canada, Europe and northwestern Africa.
The night after the eclipse will also offer an extra-special treat, as the Perseid meteor shower will peak during the new moon, the optimal time for viewing. The Perseid is “considered the best meteor shower of the year,” according to NASA.
A total solar eclipse usually only happens about once every 18 months, per Time and Date. The last total solar eclipse was on April 8, 2024. Here’s what to know about the upcoming event.
The total solar eclipse will take place on Aug. 12, 2026, according to Date and Time. S. Canada in line to view the event will look as if a “bite” was taken out of the sun, and the moon will appear to cover only a tiny portion of the sun from North America’s perspective, according to NASA.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the sun and Earth and casts a shadow on Earth that either fully or partially blocks the sun’s face, according to NASA. When the sun is completely blocked by the moon, it is known as the period of totality. During this time, the sky darkens, and viewers can remove their eclipse glasses to view our planet’s moon blocking our star. However, only a small part of the Earth, called the path of totality, will get to experience a total solar eclipse.
It will appear as if the sun had a bite taken out of it. However, to see the partial solar eclipse, viewers will need a special pair of eclipse glasses to avoid permanently damaging their eyes by looking at the sun. The following states will be able to see the partial solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026: USA TODAY’s previous reporting and National Eclipse, an organization that provides information on upcoming eclipses.
People wanting to see the partial solar eclipse should never look at the sun with the naked eye and should use eclipse glasses, which are different from typical sunglasses, to view the sun during the celestial event, according to NASA. S. NASA. Solar eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers can be purchased, but should comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard, according to NASA.
While products might say that they comply with standards, there is no way to know for sure unless they have been tested in a laboratory that is approved by a recognized accrediting body to conduct these tests, according to the American Astronomical Society. Test if your viewers or eclipse glasses are safe to use indoors before taking them outside. You might only be able to see “very bright lights,” according to the society, but that’s it. If they pass the test, take them outside on a sunny day, but do NOT look at the sun yet. If you still aren’t able to see anything except for the sun’s reflection bouncing off of objects, then you can move on to the next test.
Finally, take the glasses outside and look at the sun for less than a second. It should be “comfortably bright, with a dark background all around it,” according to the society. If they pass all three tests, they should be safe to use. If the glasses or solar viewers do not pass any of the tests, or they’re damaged, do not use them.
On August 12, 2026, for observers in eastern Spain and the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera), something rare and exciting will be visible — a horizon-proximity totality, better known as a sunset eclipse. In clear skies, the result will be one of the most unusual eclipse experiences many observers will ever witness. The Moon’s shadow will plunge the landscape into a twilight just as the day is already fading naturally into sunset. The whitish solar corona — visible only during totality — will take on an orangey hue, just as the Sun and moon close to the horizon look orange. About 18 minutes after totality is over, a heavily eclipsed Sun will sink into the Mediterranean Sea.
To see a total solar eclipse so low on the horizon — a cloud-free horizon allowing — from the Balearic Islands will be a collector’s item for any eclipse chaser. But there’s a compelling reason to turn your back on the eclipse as soon as the second diamond ring appears to end totality. “The instant totality is done, turn around and look at the sky behind you,” says Dr. Tyler Nordgren, author of Sun Moon Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets, “and you may see the shadow of the moon lifting off the planet.” In the Balearics, observers are effectively standing at the very end of the eclipse path and are the last people on Earth to experience totality. As totality ends, the moon’s shadow is no longer simply moving across the landscape, but reaching the end of its journey across Earth and beginning to skip off the planet entirely. Depending on atmospheric conditions, it may be possible to see the departing shadow cast onto distant haze layers or clouds.
Under normal circumstances, sunset is a gradual process. The western horizon remains bright while the eastern sky slowly darkens. A total solar eclipse creates a completely different kind of twilight. As the Moon’s shadow approaches, daylight collapses far more quickly than it does during an ordinary sunset. The landscape dims, colours lose their normal appearance, and the sky develops a metallic quality that many eclipse observers struggle to describe. On Aug. 12, the natural sunset will darken the sky from below, while the moon’s shadow darkens it from above. The result is likely to feel stranger than either phenomenon would on its own.
Many experienced eclipse chasers describe totality as feeling unnatural. During a sunset eclipse, that sensation may be even stronger. During a normal sunset, the Sun sinks beneath the horizon but continues to illuminate the upper atmosphere during civil twilight, defined as when the Sun is between zero and six degrees below the horizon. On Aug. 12, totality occurs at 20:27 CEST, and sunset in the Balearics is at 20:45 CEST, so for around half of twilight, the Sun’s light will be vastly diminished, particularly just after it disappears beneath the horizon. That could mean a rapid and darker twilight, and an interruption to the afterglow – the light and colour that appears just above the horizon where the Sun dipped below. To see this, eclipse chasers should stay in place for an hour after totality.
To experience a total solar eclipse, you have to be standing in its path of totality, the dark central (umbral) shadow of the moon. On 12 August 2026, that path is 183 miles (294 km) wide and 5,200 miles (8,400 km) long, beginning at sunrise in the Russian Arctic, sweeping across Greenland, Iceland and Spain, and ending at sunset in the western Mediterranean. In terms of its geometry, that path is typical; there’s always a place on Earth to watch an eclipsed sunrise at the beginning of the path and somewhere to see an eclipsed sunset just before the umbra skips off the planet. The same goes for seeing ‘devil’s horns’ during a partially eclipsed sunrise or sunset. It’s all about accessibility. Given that 71% of Earth is ocean, it’s usual for most of a path of totality to occur at sea, as is the case in 2026. Technically, a sunrise eclipse is visible from land, too, but that’s in an uninhabited area of the Taymyr Peninsula in northeastern Siberia, Russia. For these extreme points of a path to occur at sea or in remote areas is standard, but for a sunset eclipse to be visible from a holiday island in the Mediterranean is extremely rare. It’s not something that has been imaged in the digital age, save for a view from El Calafate, Patagonia, Argentina, during the total eclipse on 11 July, 2010.
If clouds on the horizon interrupt the view on 12 August, there are some more chances for a sunset eclipse coming up. On Nov. 15, 2027, a total solar eclipse will set over the Atlantic off the coast of Namibia and set in Surat in Queensland, Australia, with conditions similar to those on 12 August. The risk factor, of course, is always going to be a cloudy horizon; eclipse chasing is, and always will be, about patience, precision, perseverance — and good luck.
Spain is about to become the eclipse capital of the world. On Aug. 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will sweep across northern Spain — and a tiny part of Portugal — just before sunset, bringing the moon’s dark umbral shadow to mainland Europe for the first time this century. It will be followed less than a year later by another total solar eclipse in southern Spain on Aug. 2, 2027, and then an annular eclipse on Jan. 26, 2028. That means Spain will experience three major solar eclipses in just 532 days — two total and one annular — making it the must-visit destination for eclipse chasers in the coming years.
A tiny region of extreme northeastern Portugal will also be within the path of totality this Aug. 12. On Aug. 12, 2026, the path of totality will sweep across Greenland, Iceland, Spain and Portugal at sunset. From Spain, it will begin in Galicia in the northwest and end in the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. S. Canada, a small partial eclipse will be seen in the afternoon. The eclipsed sun will sit low in the sky as seen from Spain, making a clear western horizon essential — and potentially offering dramatic views and photographs. The area around León, Burgos and Palencia is favored because the eclipse will take place relatively high above flat, open landscapes.
The Perseid meteor shower peaks on the same night as the eclipse, overnight on Aug. 12-13. The key time to watch will be in the hours after midnight. It will be visible from the entire Northern Hemisphere if skies are clear.
Spain’s eclipse trilogy continues on Aug. 2, 2027, when a total solar eclipse will cross Spain before sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East, reaching a maximum of 6 minutes, 22 seconds near Luxor, Egypt. Then, on Jan. 26, 2028, Spain will see an annular eclipse — a “ring of fire” — again just before sunset.
The Aug. 12, 2026 eclipse will begin at sunrise in Siberia, cross eastern Greenland, western Iceland and the North Atlantic, then sweep across northern Spain before ending just east of the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera) in the Mediterranean. A small area within Portugal’s Montesinho Natural Park will also experience a very short totality. It will be the first total solar eclipse visible from Europe since 2015 and the first from mainland Europe since 1999. Totality will last a little over two minutes at maximum, but Spain’s sunset geometry means viewers will see the black sun hanging low over landscapes, coastlines and horizons — if clouds and terrain cooperate.
The Perseid meteor shower peaks overnight on Aug. 12-13, and with a new moon, this could be one of the best Perseid displays in years. During the eclipse itself, the sky may darken enough for Venus, Jupiter or bright stars to appear, but meteors are fleeting, random and generally best seen in a fully dark night sky. A very bright fireball during totality is not impossible, but it would be pure luck. The smart plan is to watch the eclipse at sunset, then stay out all night for Perseids. The real Perseid show comes after midnight and before dawn.
Spain’s rare run begins with the Aug. 12, 2026 total solar eclipse visible from northern Spain. Less than a year later, on Aug. 2, 2027, another total solar eclipse will cross southern Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia and the British Indian Ocean Territory. In Spain, places such as Cádiz, Málaga, Tarifa, Ceuta and Melilla will be among the prime locations, while the longest global duration will occur near Luxor, Egypt at 6 minutes, 22 seconds. Then, on Jan. 26, 2028, Spain gets a third solar eclipse — this time annular. The moon will appear slightly too small to completely cover the sun, leaving a thin ring of sunlight around the lunar silhouette. The path of annularity will cross the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Suriname, French Guiana, Morocco, Portugal and southern Spain, where it will occur close to sunset.
