On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will be visible from a narrow corridor stretching from the Arctic through Greenland, western Iceland, and into Portugal and Spain, while a partial eclipse will be seen across much of Europe, northwestern Africa, and North America, weather permitting. This event marks the first total solar eclipse to touch the European mainland since the celebrated eclipse of August 11, 1999, which crossed from the Atlantic through France, Germany, and onward to the Middle East. The 2026 eclipse therefore represents a rare opportunity for millions of people to witness the moon completely block the sun.
The path of totality begins in Arctic Russia, crosses Greenland, brushes the westernmost tip of Iceland, then passes over a small area of Portugal and a broad swath of Spain. Totality will last between one and a half to two minutes, with slightly longer durations — exceeding two minutes — off the coast of Iceland and in parts of Greenland. For those planning to travel to Spain or Iceland, the Spanish National Geographic Institute and a dedicated Icelandic eclipse website offer detailed guidance on the best locations from which to observe the total phase.
In Italy, the eclipse will appear as a partial event. Northern and western regions — including Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Sardinia — will experience the greatest coverage, with up to 90 percent of the solar disk obscured. Central and southern areas will see less pronounced effects. Unlike a total eclipse, during a partial eclipse the sun is never completely blocked and the solar corona remains invisible even at maximum obscuration.
Observing this eclipse presents a significant challenge because it occurs near sunset. Starting around 7:30 PM local Italian time, the sun will be very low on the western horizon. Any mountain ridge or other obstruction to the west-northwest — the direction in which the sun sets — could completely hide the eclipsed sun, casting shadows tens of kilometers long. The Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) has produced detailed visibility maps for the entire national territory that account for mountain blocking. These maps indicate from which locations the eclipse will be visible at 7:30 PM (first contact), around 7:50 PM (intermediate phase), and at the maximum phase at 8:20 PM local time. Another set of maps allows observers to check whether the first contact and the local maximum of the partial eclipse are visible from a specific location; the map for the maximum phase also quantifies the expected coverage of the solar disk. These maps were created using the TinItaly 1.1 digital elevation model from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
To help viewers follow the event, INAF, together with the Italian Amateur Astronomers Union (UAI) and the Italian Planetariums Association (PlanIt), will organize a live stream starting at 7:30 PM on August 12. The broadcast will feature images of the partial eclipse from UAI sections in Cremona and La Spezia, as well as live footage of the total eclipse from Spain — expected around 8:30 PM Italian time — provided by. The stream will be available on the EduINAF YouTube channel and on the Facebook pages of INAF and UAI. Additionally, in-person events are planned in various Italian regions, with details continuously updated on the EduINAF eclipse page.
Beyond public viewing, INAF is deploying research teams along the path of totality to conduct scientific observations. These expeditions will use telescopes and cameras to capture real-time data and images of the eclipse, including instruments such as the CISS (Coronal Imaging Spectrometer System). The rare celestial alignment offers a valuable opportunity for both scientific study and public engagement across a wide geographic area. As the sun, moon, and Earth align perfectly in space, the spectacle promises to draw the attention of skywatchers and scientists alike from the Arctic to the Mediterranean.
