Total Solar Eclipse Crosses Europe, Greenland and Iceland

On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse traced a path across northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, Spain and a small portion of Portugal. It was the first total solar eclipse since the North American event of April 2024.

More than 15 million people lived within the path of totality, while just under one billion people were positioned to see at least a partial eclipse. Millions traveled to locations along the path to witness the event.

During totality, the moon fully blocks the sun's bright disk, revealing the solar corona — the wispy outer atmosphere usually hidden by glare. This alignment occurs because the sun is roughly 400 times farther from Earth than the moon and about 400 times larger, making them appear nearly the same size in the sky.

Just before and after totality, sunlight passing through lunar valleys creates bright spots known as Baily's beads and the diamond ring effect. Solar prominences, loops of hot plasma, were also visible along the sun's edge in some photographs.

Observers reported distinct atmospheric changes. In Iceland, birds behaved as they would at dusk, while crowds in Greenland fell silent and viewers in Mallorca applauded as boats sounded horns offshore.

Partial phases were visible across wider regions of Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. In Munich, Stockholm, Berlin and Herten, Germany, crowds used eclipse glasses to watch the moon take a bite out of the sun.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured the station's silhouette transiting the partially eclipsed sun as seen from Maine. Cruise ship passengers off Greenland and spectators at a stadium in A Coruña, Spain, were among those documenting the event.

Scientists value total eclipses for the rare opportunity to study the corona and its dynamics without the need for space-based coronagraphs. The next total solar eclipse will occur in 2027.