Real Time Solar System.

total solar eclipse

Total solar eclipse of 12 August 2026

Greatest eclipse
UTC
Moon distance
366,965km
Ecliptic latitude
0.888deg
Obscuration
100.0%

At greatest eclipse the Moon's disc spans 0.5425° against the Sun's 0.5264° — a ratio of 1.0307. Because the Moon appears larger, it covers the Sun completely and totality is possible.

Where you can see it

The shadow crosses the Arctic, the North Atlantic and Europe. Only along the central line does the Moon cover the Sun completely; a few hundred kilometres either side and it is a partial eclipse, which looks nothing like the same event.

-120°-60°0°60°120°60°30°0°-30°-60°Athens: not visibleIstanbul: not visibleMiami: not visibleAtlanta: not visibleHouston: not visibleDallas: not visibleDenver: not visiblePhoenix: not visibleLos Angeles: not visibleSan Francisco: not visibleSeattle: not visibleVancouver: not visibleMexico City: not visibleSão Paulo: not visibleBuenos Aires: not visibleSantiago: not visibleCape Town: not visibleJohannesburg: not visibleNairobi: not visibleCairo: not visibleLuxor: not visibleBenghazi: not visibleJeddah: not visibleDubai: not visibleMumbai: not visibleDelhi: not visibleSingapore: not visibleHong Kong: not visibleTokyo: not visibleSeoul: not visibleSydney: not visibleMelbourne: not visibleBrisbane: not visiblePerth: not visibleAuckland: not visibleChicago: partial, 0% coveredWashington, D.C.: partial, 4% coveredToronto: partial, 8% coveredNew York: partial, 9% coveredBoston: partial, 16% coveredMontreal: partial, 18% coveredHelsinki: partial, 80% coveredStockholm: partial, 81% coveredOslo: partial, 83% coveredWarsaw: partial, 83% coveredCopenhagen: partial, 83% coveredBerlin: partial, 85% coveredHamburg: partial, 85% coveredPrague: partial, 86% coveredVienna: partial, 87% coveredAmsterdam: partial, 88% coveredCologne: partial, 88% coveredUtrecht: partial, 88% coveredEindhoven: partial, 89% coveredThe Hague: partial, 89% coveredRotterdam: partial, 89% coveredMunich: partial, 89% coveredLiège: partial, 89% coveredAntwerp: partial, 89% coveredLeuven: partial, 89% coveredBrussels: partial, 89% coveredLuxembourg: partial, 90% coveredGhent: partial, 90% coveredCharleroi: partial, 90% coveredBruges: partial, 90% coveredZurich: partial, 91% coveredEdinburgh: partial, 91% coveredManchester: partial, 91% coveredGlasgow: partial, 91% coveredLondon: partial, 91% coveredBirmingham: partial, 92% coveredTangier: partial, 92% coveredParis: partial, 92% coveredMilan: partial, 92% coveredCádiz: partial, 93% coveredBelfast: partial, 93% coveredCardiff: partial, 93% coveredLyon: partial, 94% coveredDublin: partial, 94% coveredLisbon: partial, 94% coveredMálaga: partial, 95% coveredRome: partial, 95% coveredMarseille: partial, 96% coveredBarcelona: partial, 100% coveredMadrid: partial, 100% coveredReykjavík: total, 100% covered
The brass line is the central track — where the Moon covers the Sun completely. Dots are the 86 cities on the tonight pages, shaded by how much of the Sun is covered there. Hollow dots see nothing. Coastlines are Natural Earth 1:110m.

Cities in the path

CityMaximum (UTC)Sun altitudeDuration
Reykjavík17:4825°1m 5s

Partial elsewhere

Sorted by how much of the Sun disappears. Below about 40% nothing looks wrong to the naked eye — the Sun is so bright that losing a third of it changes very little. Never look without a proper solar filter regardless.

CityCoveredMaximum (UTC)Sun altitude
Madrid100%18:327°
Barcelona100%18:294°
Marseille96%18:253°
Rome95%18:24below horizon
Málaga95%18:386°
Lisbon94%18:3510°
Dublin94%18:1015°
Lyon94%18:215°
Cardiff93%18:1312°
Belfast93%18:0815°
Cádiz93%18:387°
Milan92%18:202°
Paris92%18:178°
Tangier92%18:406°
Birmingham92%18:1112°
London91%18:1310°
Glasgow91%18:0515°
Manchester91%18:1012°
Edinburgh91%18:0514°
Zurich91%18:173°
Bruges90%18:138°
Charleroi90%18:147°
Ghent90%18:138°
Luxembourg90%18:156°

Showing the 24 deepest of 50 listed cities.

Not visible at all from Athens, Istanbul, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Mexico City, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Cairo, Luxor, Benghazi, Jeddah, Dubai, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland.

Greatest eclipse falls at 65.22°, -25.25° — the point where the axis passes closest to Earth's centre. The central line is computed from the Sun–Moon axis intersected with the geoid, and agrees with the reference coordinates to within a tenth of a kilometre.

Why eclipses come in seasons

The Moon's orbit is tilted about 5° to the ecliptic, so at most new and full moons it passes above or below the alignment. An eclipse needs the syzygy to coincide with the Moon being near one of the two nodes where the orbits cross. At this eclipse the Moon's ecliptic latitude was 0.888° — close enough to zero for the shadow to connect.

Times computed from VSOP87 and an ELP-derived lunar theory, validated against NOVAS and JPL Horizons to within one arcminute. See the alignment for yourself in the live simulation.