Europe Awaits First Total Solar Eclipse Since 1999
The total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, will darken skies over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, while a partial eclipse will be visible across Europe, including Croatia.
The total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, will darken skies over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, while a partial eclipse will be visible across Europe, including Croatia.
Exactly one week separates us from a celestial spectacle that Europe hasn't witnessed in nearly three decades. On Tuesday, August 12, 2026, the Moon's shadow will cover the Sun in a total eclipse, the first of its kind on European soil since 1999. The path of totality, a narrow corridor, will stretch from Greenland, across Iceland, to northern Spain and the Balearic Islands, where daylight will briefly turn into twilight for a few minutes.
This rare event will draw millions of eyes skyward. While those within the narrow path of totality will have the chance to see the stunning solar corona, the Sun's outer atmosphere usually hidden by its brilliance, a much larger number of people across much of Europe, including Croatia, as well as parts of the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada, will see the Moon only partially "bite" into the solar disk.
Skywatching editor Daisy Dobrijevic and writer Anthony Wood from Space.com will cover the event from two unique locations along the path of totality. Dobrijevic is currently aboard the expedition ship MS Spitsbergen operated by HX Expeditions, exploring Greenland's dramatic coastline. She will attempt to capture totality from Scoresby Sund, the world's largest and longest fjord system, hoping for better luck than last time when, as she puts it, "totality was a complete miss, but not for the reasons you'd expect."
On the other side of the Atlantic, in the Spanish town of Valoria la Buena, Wood will join the DEB initiative and witness his first total solar eclipse. There, the eclipsed Sun will hang low above the western horizon, just before sunset, creating a particularly dramatic scene.
As anticipation builds, experts warn that eye protection is an absolute priority. Looking directly at the Sun without proper protection can cause permanent vision damage. Certified eclipse glasses are the only safe protection, and no home tricks like X-ray films, photographic negatives, or smoked glass will work, warns El País. Even welder's filters, while protective, do not provide sufficient clarity for quality observation of the phenomenon.
These safety rules apply even in areas where the eclipse will be only partial, such as Croatia. Any direct observation of the Sun requires certified equipment to avoid serious eye injury.
