MADRID (Kashmir English): A total solar eclipse will occur on August 12, 2026, sweeping across Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, Portugal, and northern Spain.
It would be the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Europe since 1999, with totality lasting up to about two minutes and eighteen seconds.
Total eclipse path would cross Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, a small part of Portugal, and northern Spain while partial eclipse would be visible across much of North America (including parts of the northern U.S. and eastern Canada), most of Europe, and northwestern Africa.
In Spain and Portugal, totality would happen late in the day near sunset.
According to experts, day will briefly turn into night across a swathe of northern Spain on August 12, when the Moon will completely cover the Sun during a rare total solar eclipse.
Observers have been advised not to look directly at the Sun during an eclipse as it can cause serious eye damage.
What is a solar eclipse?
Eclipses happen when the Moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth, casting a narrow band of shadow across our planet.
It creates a strange twilight during which temperatures drop, shadows appear at strange angles and some animals go to sleep.
However, according to Nasa, it is really the result of a “cosmic coincidence”.
“Even though the Sun is about 400 times bigger than the Moon, it is also about 400 times farther away,” says the US space agency.
This means that for people standing in the right spot, the Moon totally covers the Sun — revealing its outer atmosphere called the corona.
For people in Spain, the total eclipse will last under two minutes just before sunset.
