On 12 August 2026, a total solar eclipse was observed in the Northern Hemisphere across Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain, and a small corner of Portugal. A partial solar eclipse was seen in many places in the region, including parts of the northern U.S. (from Alaska to North Carolina), most of Canada, much of Europe, and north-western Africa. A sunset eclipse was observed along the western part of the eclipse path (in mainland Europe and Africa), where the Sun set while the Sun was still partially eclipsed.
The Last total solar eclipse occurred on 8 April 2024. Its path of totality stretched across North America, giving millions in the region an opportunity to observe the Sun’s corona. The latest event was limited to some areas in the Northern Hemisphere. The Moon’s shadow first crossed over the Arctic Circle from northern Russia and then tracked along the eastern side of Greenland. In Iceland, totality began at about 5:45 p.m. local time.
A solar eclipse is observed when the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth align and Moon comes in front of the Sun throwing its shadow on the Earth. A total solar eclipse is seen in the centre of the Moon’s shadow on the Earth.
For the Catalonia region, the total solar eclipse on 12 August 2026, that briefly turned day into night, was a one-in-a-lifetime event occurring after 121 years.
Total solar eclipses give a single snapshot of the solar corona. They provide an opportunity to study features in the low corona near the solar surface for assessing coronal structures and for testing coronal models.
COCONUT (COolfluid COroNal UnsTructured) is a modern, three-dimensional global Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) coronal simulation model. It replicates the physics of the solar corona and acts as a foundation for next-generation space weather forecasting. It was used to predict the April 2024 total solar eclipse as well as the latest total solar eclipse on 12 August 2026. High-quality images taken in the 2026 total eclipse will be used to validate COCONUT model predictions.
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References:
- NASA. Total Solar Eclipse. Available at https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/total-solar-eclipse-on-august-12-2026
- NASA. Stops Along the Path of Totality. 12 August 2026. Available at https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/stops-along-the-path-of-totality/
- National Solar Observatory (NSO). Total Solar Eclipse – August 12, 2026. Available at https://nso.edu/for-public/eclipse-map-2026/
- Domènech Rams, G., Herrero, K., and Masana, E.: Once in a century: the scientific and collective experience of the Total Solar Eclipse 2026 in Catalonia, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-1178, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-1178, 2026.
- Schmieder, B., et al. Total Eclipse on August 12, 2026: observations in Spain and prediction with COCONUT, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-1542, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-1542, 2026.
- Kuźma B. et al 2023.COCONUT, a Novel Fast-converging MHD Model for Solar Corona Simulations. III. Impact of the Preprocessing of the Magnetic Map on the Modeling of the Solar Cycle Activity and Comparison with Observations. The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 942, Number 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aca483
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, most of Canada, much of Europe, and north-western Africa. A sunset eclipse was observed along the western part of the eclipse path (in mainland Europe and Africa), where Sun set while the Sun was still partially eclipsed.){kind=link}