Jakarta, ThedailyID — Spain will witness its first total solar eclipse in more than a century on Aug. 12, 2026, offering skywatchers one of the most spectacular astronomical events in recent history.
The eclipse will coincide with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower and a rare six-planet parade, creating an extraordinary day of celestial events.
The Moon’s shadow will begin near the Arctic before moving south across Greenland, Iceland, and the Iberian Peninsula. During the eclipse, totality will last up to two minutes and 18 seconds.
The Moon’s umbra will travel about 8,260 kilometers in roughly 90 minutes, with the longest period of totality occurring off Iceland’s western coast.
As the eclipse reaches Portugal and Spain, where millions are expected to gather, totality will shorten to about one minute before ending over the Mediterranean Sea.
Before sunrise, observers will also have the chance to see six planets aligned across the sky. Later that night, the Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak under the dark skies created by the new moon.
Astronomers expect bright meteors to streak across the sky while planets and stars appear even more visible during the rare celestial display.
Eclipse cartographer Michael Zeiler plans to observe the event from a cruise ship in Greenland’s fjords, where he also hopes to witness the northern lights.
“What excites me the most is seeing an incredibly rare natural phenomenon,” Zeiler said, as quoted by The Independent.
Major space agencies will also cover the event. The European Space Agency (ESA) will livestream the eclipse from the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory in Spain and host public celebrations in León. NASA and Italy’s Virtual Telescope Project will also broadcast special coverage.
“For me, this is more than a scientific event or a celestial alignment,” ESA Director of Science Carole Mundell said. “It is an emotional human experience that connects us with the universe.”
The 2026 eclipse will mark the beginning of an exceptional series of solar eclipses visible from Spain.
On Aug. 2, 2027, another total solar eclipse will cross southern Spain before continuing across North Africa and the Middle East. Totality could last up to six minutes and 23 seconds.
Spain will then witness an annular, or “ring of fire,” solar eclipse on Jan. 26, 2028, completing an exceptionally rare trio of major eclipses.
The last total solar eclipse to cross mainland Spain occurred in 1912, although some astronomers consider the 1905 eclipse to be the country’s last fully developed total solar eclipse because the 1912 event only produced a few seconds of totality.
