August 12 Total Solar Eclipse Crosses 8,300 Kilometers, Reaching Spain for First Mainland View Since 1905
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jun 6
August 12 Total Solar Eclipse Crosses 8,300 Kilometers, Reaching Spain for First Mainland View Since 1905
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jun 6
Summary
August 12 will bring the first total solar eclipse in more than two years, with totality visible in parts of Greenland, Iceland, northeastern Portugal and northern Spain.
An 8,300-kilometer path of totality starts over the Arctic around 1 p.m. ET, passes near the North Pole and then sweeps into Europe, delivering just over two minutes of darkness in Greenland but only about 20 seconds in northern Spain.
Spain is a focal point because this is its first mainland total solar eclipse since 1905 and the first of three eclipses the country is set to witness by 2028; the last total eclipse seen from mainland Europe was in 2006.
Outside the narrow totality corridor, a partial eclipse will be visible across parts of Europe, Africa and North America, while ESA plans a livestream from Spain and officials warn viewers to use certified eclipse protection except during totality.
Scientists also plan high-altitude balloon observations during the event to study the sun’s corona and revisit a 1919-style test of how the sun’s gravity bends starlight.