Wednesday 12th August brings a partial Solar Eclipse across the UK, with totality over parts of Spain and western Iceland. We will look at all of these locations. This event will take place in the evening, with the Moon moving steadily between the Sun and the Earth, obscuring part or all of the Sun from view. Europe has not seen a total solar eclipse since 1999.
NASA “A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, casting its shadow on Earth. The shadow comprises two concentric cones, a dark inner shadow called the umbra and a lighter outer shadow called the penumbra. Observers on Earth, who are within the smaller central umbra, see the Sun completely blocked. Within the larger penumbra, the Sun is only partially blocked.”
Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualisation Studio
Before any details about timings and which way to look, you must not look directly at the Sun. So if you want to see the gradual change in the sky, you will need eclipse glasses. The other option isn’t about looking up at the sky, but rather projecting an image onto the ground. Using a pinhole projector, you can see the changing shape transferred as an inverted image onto a nearby surface. It can be a small hole in a piece of paper, a colander, even crossing your fingers to make a grid and holding your hand outstretched towards the floor.
Projection through binoculars by Chas Penny 2021 East Lothian
NASA “Remember to watch safely. Use certified eclipse glasses or a safe solar viewer any time any part of the Sun is visible. Regular sunglasses are not safe. And never use binoculars, a telescope, or a camera without a solar filter made for the front of the optics.”
Don’t use your iPhone to take a photo of the partial eclipse; it needs a filter too. You can cut part off a pair of eclipse glasses and tape it around the lens. Take great care of your eclipse glasses so that they are not scratched.
“Cosmic Coincidence - The Sun’s diameter (865,000 miles) is about 400 times the Moon's (2,160 miles). The Sun is also (on average) about 400 times farther away (93 million miles vs. 240,000 miles). As a result, the two bodies appear almost the same angular size in the sky. This truly remarkable coincidence is what gives us total solar eclipses. If the Moon were slightly smaller or orbited a little farther away from Earth, it would never completely cover the solar disk. If the Moon were a little larger or orbited a bit closer to Earth, it would block much of the solar corona during totality, and eclipses wouldn’t be nearly as spectacular.”
A Full Moon is when we can see the sun-illuminated surface of the Moon, with the Moon further away from the Sun than the Earth. For an eclipse, we need a New Moon, which is when the near side of the Moon is dark, no sunlight on the side that we see. Occasionally, the Moon gets right in the way of the Sun.
This August, most of the UK will see over 90% of the sun covered. Many people may not even notice, as the evening begins to fall. You will need open sky, so if there are high buildings, trees or a mountain in the way, be aware that the sun will be getting rather low. In Scotland, the sun will set around 9pm. For the Midlands and Cardiff, around 8:40pm. It might be worth researching where the sun will be visible in the days before the 12th.
The Sun’s altitude can be measured as an angle, from the horizon at zero degrees to 90 degrees overhead.
Wednesday 12th August 2026
We will have the forecast in the run-up to Wednesday evening across the UK. The Netweather Radar shows rainfall, updating every five minutes, and cloud cover updating each hour.
Glasgow: Partial eclipse begins 18:08, Maximum 19:06, Partial Eclipse ends 20:00 with a magnitude of 92% coverage and 14 degrees altitude.
Manchester: Partial eclipse begins 18:13, Maximum 19:10, Partial Eclipse ends 20:03 with a magnitude of 92% 12 degrees
London: Partial eclipse begins 18:17, Maximum 19:13, Partial Eclipse ends 20:06 with a magnitude of 93% 10 degrees
As an additional treat after dark, it will be the peak of the Perseids meteor shower that night, which is one of the most stunning meteor shows each year.
You need to be able to see the western horizon around 7pm BST, and in the hour before and after. Obviously all of this will be cloud dependent. If the skies are full of clouds, then the next total eclipse will be the 2nd August 2027 for southern Spain, Gibraltar, north Africa and the Red Sea. However, in the UK in 2027, there will only be a smaller amount of the Sun covered, around 40 to 50%.
In April 2024, North America witnessed a great Solar Eclipse, lasting over four minutes in places, from Mexico across a swathe of the United States into Newfoundland. The Weather Holidays crew added this to their Tour with an incredible day before heading off on the usual Storm Chasing adventures.
Weather Holidays tour 2024 Arkansas
In 2026, for those travelling to other parts of Europe, totality will be around one minute, but the difference between 100% coverage and 90% is huge. The darkening, the drop in temperature, sometimes the winds ease, but mostly the moment of seeing the Sun’s corona, and the Baily’s Beads/ Diamond Ring Effect as totality ends.
Credit NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
“The Baily's Beads effect is seen as the Moon makes its final move over the Sun during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017 above Madras, Oregon. This effect occurs when gaps in the Moon's rugged terrain allow sunlight to pass through in some places just before the total phase of the eclipse.”
As totality begins and ends, a brilliant burst of sunlight appears along one edge of the Moon. This is known as the diamond ring effect, and you must have your eclipse glasses on for this.
Around Europe - Iceland and Spain
Western Iceland is just in the path of totality, as is eastern Greenland. The Icelandic Meteorological Office has a cloud cover page for the Eclipse. And RUV carries local news in English.
Reykjavik, Iceland: Partial eclipse begins 16:47, Total Eclipse for 50 seconds 17:48:24 until 17:49:14 19:10, Partial Eclipse ends 18:47 with a magnitude of 100% 24 degrees
EUMETSAT satellite of Iberia
Spain
Many holidaymakers may just chance upon the celestial event if they are vacationing in mainland Spain mid-August or on the Balearic Islands.
The capital Madrid is not in the path of totality. Here the sun will be low in the sky and even when 99% is covered, it should not be viewed directly.
Valencia will see a total eclipse, as will Bilbao, Zaragoza, Tarragona, Ibiza and Majorca. Again, the sun will be low in the evening sky, and cloud cover could spoil the view.
In the north, Bilbao: Partial eclipse begins 19:31, Total Eclipse for 35 seconds 20:27:23 until 20:27:58 with little time to see much more before sunset, a magnitude of 100% 8 degrees
A popular destination for Madrileños (Madrid residents) will be a 30-minute train ride north to Segovia: Partial eclipse begins 19:35, Total Eclipse for 57 seconds 20:31:10 until 20:21:06, a magnitude of 100% 8 degrees.
In the east of the mainland, Valencia is the largest city in the path of the 2026 total solar eclipse: Partial eclipse begins 19:38, Total Eclipse for 1 minute 20:32:31 until 20:33:30 with little time to see much more before sunset, a magnitude of 100% at only 5 degrees altitude.
For Ibiza and Mallorca the sun's altitude will be 3 degrees so very low on the horizon. Make sure that there won’t be any mountains blocking your view.
Keep an eye on AEMET for the weather forecast and cloud cover, as well as any weather warnings. It has been extremely hot so far this year with numerous heatwaves, and also wildfires in a few areas. If you are planning on “chasing the eclipse” in Spain; make sure your car is packed with food and water, full of fuel, your own protection from the sun and anything to keep cool. If you have to stay in one place and the cloud cover does wreck your plans at the wrong moment, it should still be an amazing experience to share with the crowds. And there is always 2027.
Pack your eclipse glasses, sun cream, a sun hat, maybe an umbrella for shade whilst waiting. Plenty of water and a fan. Totality doesn’t last for long this time, so maybe getting an amazing photo might not happen and faffing about trying could mean missing the actual magic of the event. Experience that minute.
2027
If you get thinking about travelling for the next total eclipse, it is only a year away. Luxor in Egypt will have totality for 6 minutes and 22 seconds, the longest total solar eclipse for the rest of this century. That is a long totality, which is ideal for photographers. Other popular tourist destinations include Gibraltar, Marbella, Malaga and Cadiz. Parts of northern Morocco and all the way across to Mecca and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
More Solar Eclipse chat in the Netweather community forum
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