Overview
- A very deep partial eclipse will sweep across the UK on Wednesday 12 August 2026 with first contact beginning in the early evening, a peak between about 7:05pm and 7:16pm BST depending on location, and the event ending by about 8:10pm BST.
- Totality will occur only inside a narrow path crossing eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain so observers elsewhere in Europe, including the UK, will see a partial eclipse that darkens daylight but does not produce full night.
- Health and astronomy authorities advise using ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses or indirect viewing like a pinhole projector or a colander because looking directly at the Sun can cause rapid and painless retinal damage.
- Officials and vendors warn of likely last-minute demand, counterfeit or damaged viewers, and stressed local logistics, so people are urged to buy trusted certified glasses early, choose high western horizons for sunset viewing, or use projections and livestreams if supplies run out.
- The eclipse night also brings the Perseid meteor shower peak shortly after dark and is followed later in August by a very deep partial lunar eclipse, making mid-to-late August a notable period for skywatching and local tourism in path-of-totality areas.