by Are you ready for the next total solar eclipse? As soon as the April 2024 eclipse was over across North America, eclipse chasers turned their attention to planning for the next, which will be on August 12, 2026.
It will be the first overall solar eclipse visible from Europe since 2015 and the first on mainland Europe since 1999. However, only five countries will experience the total — when the moon’s shadow completely blocks the face of the sun — on August 12, 2026. On that day, the sun will rise to a total eclipse from a remote part of Siberia in Russia before the moon’s shadow moves across eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain, brushing a small part of northeastern Portugal.
Related: 16 best places to see the 2026 total solar eclipse
Weather across the path of totality helps at this time of year, as August is the best month for clear skies across the region, although finding clear skies will still be a challenge. However, perhaps the most confusing aspect of this eclipse is its height, at least for observers in Spain. You will need to calculate lines of sight in advance, which was not necessary for a total North American solar eclipse.
However, the prize is the same: to be completely eclipsed Sun, for a maximum of 2 minutes, 18 seconds. Here are 10 top tips for planning your total solar eclipse experience in 2026.
1. Forgetting era
Do not judge a total solar eclipse by its maximum total duration. Although the entirety of the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse lasted more than four minutes for some viewers, most total solar eclipses last two minutes or less. Furthermore, the length of totality is trivial. It’s amazing that totality happens at all — and how dramatic it is. Instead, consider where you’ll be viewing it on the path of totality because location makes a difference.
2. Fixate on the sky position.
The sun will not be eclipsed at any point on Earth higher than 26 degrees above the horizon during the eclipse of August 2026. It will not be a big problem in Greenland and Iceland, but in Spain, the sun will be getting worse just 70 minutes before sunset on the Galician coast of Spain, where the sun will be only 11 degrees above the northwest horizon.
It will appear lower in the sky and closer to sunset as the path of totality moves east. The sun will hardly be eclipsed 3 degrees above the northwest horizon from the west coast of any of the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Minorca and Ibiza). That could cause the sun to get lost in the glass and clouds of the sky. Or, it could be rare, dramatic “golden crown.” As with all eclipses, you must weigh risk versus reward.
3. Pay attention to sight lines on the Spanish coast
The sun will ease off the east coast of Spain at just 4 degrees above the northwest horizon. Locations can be found on the coast with a clear view of the eclipse, but don’t overlook anything. In many coastal areas, the trick is to get inland and on higher ground. Either way, triple check the sight lines of all locations.
4. Consider some landscape photography.
The 2026 eclipse will provide a short period of time to image the eclipsed sun with an opportunity to see and capture the sun’s corona above landmarks, mountains and buildings. Expect images of an eclipsed sun over icebergs in Greenland; over the Sun Voyager statue in Reykjavík, Iceland; and through the arches of the Roman aqueduct bridge in Segovia, Spain. Many photography workshops will go to Spain to capture the eclipsing sun close to the horizon. You can also check our guides on How to photograph a solar eclipse and how to photograph a total solar eclipse with a smartphone.
5. Consider cloud cover
As solar eclipse meteorologist Jay Anderson notes on his website Eclipsephile.com, Valladolid and Zaragoza, Spain, and the Mediterranean coast the highest chance of clear skies. That said, there are good reasons to be optimistic about clear skies in Iceland and Greenland too, and Scoresby Sund is often sunny in August. If the total solar eclipse 2024 taught eclipse chasers anything, it was to expect the unexpected.
6. Stay mobile
It might be difficult to find accommodation in rural areas of Spain ahead of time. Additionally, this one does not require waking up within the path of totality because it occurs just before sunset. You will have the whole day to travel somewhere that is forecast to have clear skies.
7. Don’t obsess about the midline
You don’t need to focus on the center line for this eclipse. Yes, it will maximize the duration of totality. However, not only is the maximum duration relatively short, but there are diminishing returns the closer you get to the midline. That’s because of the moonthe shadow is oval in shape, so the total length gradually tapers on either side of the center line. For example, Burgos, which is close to the center line, will get 1 minute, 44 seconds, and Valladolid, which is halfway between the center line and the southern border, will get 1 minute, 29 seconds.
8. Prepare for a “Pac-Man” sunset.
The E80 motorway that connects Valladolid to Burgos is across from the center line in the most likely place for clear skies along the entire path of totality. It also shows the dividing line for a partially eclipsed sunset. From everywhere west of here, the sun will no longer get worse as it sets. In the east, it will go below the horizon while still being partially eclipsed. Locations further east – such as Calamocha, Teruel and Zaragoza – will be good sites for viewing the ecliptic sunset.
9. Plan for “shooting stars” and the Milky Way.
It is a coincidence that August 12 is the peak of the Perseid meteor shower in 2026. So, in theory, traveling to Spain could get you a total solar eclipse followed by a night sky full of “shooting stars” in fully moonlit skies (since a solar eclipse, by definition, occurs with pool a New moon). It is also the peak time to catch a glimpse of the The Milky Way burn down in the southern sky. The Perseid peak will also occur in Greenland and Iceland, but there is no darkness in that region. In Reykjavík, Iceland, the sun sets at around 9:50 pm on August 12 and rises around 5 am, but it doesn’t get completely dark.
10. Go north for possible auroras
There is much talk about whether the aurora borealis could be seen — the northern lights — during the eclipse as seen from Iceland and Greenland. However, it is extremely unlikely – the aurora is fleeting and unpredictable in terms of time and intensity, and during totality, the sky does not become darker than the bright darkness. There will be a chance during the nights around the eclipse, but no real darkness comes in August; from midnight, there are about three hours of sea twilight when it is dark enough to see auroras sometimes.
