MOSCOW / RankWire.AI / – On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse made its way across the Russian Arctic before continuing into the North Atlantic and reaching Europe. According to the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, the eclipse’s initial phase occurred over Russia’s remote northern territories around 17:00 GMT. The Moon’s shadow then moved over Greenland and Iceland, ultimately reaching Spain and northeastern Portugal close to sunset. Only a narrow corridor experienced totality, while neighboring regions across Europe, North America, and Africa observed a partial eclipse.
NASA calculations indicated the peak of the eclipse at 17:45:53.8 UTC over the North Atlantic. Totality in this zone lasted approximately two minutes and 18 seconds. At the moment of greatest eclipse, the totality path spanned roughly 294 kilometers in width. During totality, the Moon entirely covered the Sun’s luminous disk, revealing the solar corona—the Sun’s outer atmosphere visible only when the photosphere is blocked. Outside the umbra, observers saw only part of the Sun obscured.
Northern Russia was the first to experience totality as the lunar shadow entered the Arctic region. The shadow then crossed the Arctic Ocean and eastern Greenland before reaching western Iceland. The path included Reykjavík, then continued southward across the North Atlantic toward the Iberian Peninsula. Late in the day, northern Spain experienced totality, and a small northeastern area of Portugal also entered the totality corridor. Much of the rest of Europe, along with parts of northwestern Africa and North America, observed only a partial eclipse.
Moon’s shadow travels across Arctic and Atlantic regions
During the final land phase of totality, the eclipse passed over a large portion of northern Spain. Crowds gathered across cities, towns, and rural areas throughout the north and center of the country. This event marked Spain’s first total solar eclipse in over a hundred years. In many locations, the Sun was completely covered just before sunset, with the low solar angle placing the darkened Sun close to the western horizon. This timing made Spain one of the last significant viewing areas along the eclipse’s path.
Conditions for viewing varied widely along the route. In Reykjavík, clouds covered much of the sky during totality, limiting clear views from the Icelandic capital. However, some western regions of Iceland experienced clearer conditions. Many Spanish locations also enjoyed clearer skies as the eclipse neared sunset, allowing observers to witness the Moon fully obscuring the Sun during the brief central phase. The partial phases lasted longer because the Moon only partially covered the Sun before and after totality. Larger surrounding regions fell outside the totality corridor.
Spain witnesses total eclipse just before sunset
In the partial eclipse zones, the extent of the Sun’s coverage varied depending on location. Most of Canada and a significant portion of Europe experienced only a partial eclipse. Some areas of the northern United States also fell within the broader visibility zone. Northwestern Africa saw partial views as well. To observe the eclipse safely during all partial phases, viewers outside totality had to use certified solar filters. They could remove their eye protection only during the brief moments of totality and needed to reapply it once direct sunlight returned.
As the lunar shadow crossed the Iberian Peninsula near sunset, the European land phase of the eclipse ended. The event created a continuous path linking remote Arctic territories with Greenland, Iceland, and southwestern Europe. The totality corridor covered northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and a small part of Portugal. Meanwhile, wider regions across three continents experienced the partial phases. Following the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse over North America, the 2026 event largely centered on the Arctic and North Atlantic areas.