2026 Total Solar Eclipse: Path from Russia to Spain
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- The 12 August 2026 total solar eclipse begins in Russia around midday, sweeps across the Arctic south of the North Pole, and makes landfall in northeastern Greenland just after 4:00pm local time.
- Iceland sees its first total solar eclipse since 1954 — and its last until 2196 — with Reykjavík getting just over one minute of totality at 5:48pm local time.
- The total eclipse path reaches northern Spain just before 8:30pm local time, grazing the northeast corner of Portugal and crossing the Balearic Islands before sunset ends the event.
- Maximum totality lasts about 2 minutes and 18 seconds as the moon's shadow races from Greenland into the Atlantic at more than 3,400 km/h.
- The UK and Ireland will see 90–96% of the sun covered, with London's partial eclipse running from 6:17 to 8:06pm and peaking at 7:12pm.
- Most of Canada, Alaska, and the northeastern US will see less than half the sun obscured (Montreal 18% at 1:45pm, New York 9% at 1:54pm), while solar scientists plan to use the brief totality window to study why the sun's corona is far hotter than its surface.
Why it matters: Iceland's next total solar eclipse after August 2026 won't come until 2196 — a 170-year gap — making this the only chance in several lifetimes for anyone alive today to see totality from Reykjavík, while viewers across a quarter of the planet catch a partial eclipse requiring certified eye protection throughout.
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