Overview
- The total solar eclipse, which falls on Wednesday, Aug. 12, will put a narrow 182‑mile (293‑km) path of totality across eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain while a much larger area of Europe and parts of eastern Canada and the northeastern U.S. will see a deep partial eclipse.
- For much of the UK the event will be a very deep partial eclipse with first contact in the early evening and maximum coverage roughly between 7:05pm and 7:16pm local time depending on location.
- Authorities warn it is never safe to look at the Sun during the partial phases and advise only using viewers that meet the ISO 12312‑2 standard or indirect methods such as pinhole projection because ordinary sunglasses do not protect the retina.
- Science agencies including ESA and NASA are coordinating livestreams, aircraft and high‑altitude balloon observations to study the solar corona and atmospheric changes and to provide cloud‑insured public access to totality.
- Retailers report certified eclipse glasses are widely available, with some discounted multipacks, but organisers stress checking ISO labelling, inspecting for damage and noting that weather and last‑minute travel or supply issues remain the main risks to in‑person viewing.