MOSCOW / RankWire.AI / – On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse traveled across the Russian Arctic, then moved into the North Atlantic before heading toward Europe. State Space Corporation Roscosmos reported that the eclipse started over Russia’s remote northern regions around 17:00 GMT. The Moon’s shadow crossed Greenland and Iceland before reaching Spain and northeastern Portugal near sunset. The zone of totality was confined to a narrow corridor, while surrounding areas across Europe, North America, and Africa experienced a partial eclipse.
NASA estimates placed the peak of the eclipse at 17:45:53.8 UTC over the North Atlantic. Totality there lasted roughly two minutes and 18 seconds. At the point of greatest eclipse, the totality path spanned approximately 294 kilometers wide. During totality, the Moon entirely covered the Sun’s luminous disk, revealing the solar corona, which forms the Sun’s outer atmosphere and becomes visible when the photosphere is blocked. Outside the umbra, observers only saw part of the Sun obscured.
Totality first appeared in northern Russia as the lunar shadow moved into the Arctic region. It then crossed the Arctic Ocean and eastern Greenland before reaching western Iceland. The eclipse path included Reykjavík and extended southward across the North Atlantic toward the Iberian Peninsula. Late in the day, northern Spain experienced totality, with a small section of northeastern Portugal also falling within the totality corridor. The majority of Europe, along with parts of northwestern Africa and North America, observed only a partial eclipse.
Moon’s shadow traverses Arctic and Atlantic regions
The eclipse’s final land phase of totality swept over northern Spain, drawing crowds in cities, towns, and rural viewing sites across the northern and central parts of the country. This event marked Spain’s first total solar eclipse in over a century. In many locations, the Moon fully covered the Sun shortly before sunset, with the low solar angle placing the darkened Sun near the western horizon. This timing made Spain one of the last major viewing areas along the eclipse path.
Conditions for viewing varied sharply along the route. Cloud cover obscured much of Reykjavík during totality, limiting direct observation from the Icelandic capital. Western Iceland experienced clearer skies in some areas. Many locations in Spain had clearer weather as the eclipse neared sunset, allowing observers to witness the Moon entirely cover the solar disk during the brief central phase. The partial phases lasted longer because the Moon only covered part of the Sun before and after totality. Larger surrounding regions remained outside the totality zone.
Spain experiences near-sunset total eclipse
In the partial eclipse zones, the extent of the Sun obscured by the Moon varied with location. Most of Canada and much of Europe saw a partial eclipse, as did parts of the northern United States. Northwestern Africa also observed a partial view. Spectators outside the totality corridor needed certified solar filters to view directly during all partial phases. Eye protection could be removed only during totality, returning immediately afterward to shield from direct sunlight.
The European land phase concluded as the Moon’s shadow crossed the Iberian Peninsula near sunset. The eclipse connected remote Arctic territories with Greenland, Iceland, and southwestern Europe in a continuous path. Northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and a small part of Portugal all lay within the totality corridor. Broader regions across three continents experienced only partial phases. The August 12 event followed the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse over North America. In 2026, the eclipse’s path predominantly focused on the Arctic and North Atlantic regions.