Overview
- A total solar eclipse will occur on August 12, 2026, with the Moon’s dark shadow sweeping from the North Atlantic southwest of Iceland across northern Spain and the Balearic Islands and reaching a global maximum around 19:46 CEST.
- Observers in Germany will see only a partial eclipse at sunset with city maxima roughly 84–93 percent, so finding an unobstructed western horizon is essential to catch the event before the Sun sets.
- Spanish regional authorities and tourism officials report heavy bookings and large crowds in the totality corridor, with hotels near León, Bilbao, Santander and on Mallorca largely full and forecasts of millions of visitors.
- Public agencies urge strict eye protection: use certified EU‑standard eclipse ('Sofi') glasses or indirect projection methods and never look through binoculars or telescopes without proper solar filters because seconds of exposure can damage the retina.
- Scientists plan targeted observations during the totality to probe the poorly understood 'flying shadows' phenomenon after balloon and camera studies in 2017 and 2024 suggested formation in higher atmospheric layers than older tropospheric models predict.