August 12 Total Solar Eclipse Crosses 4 Regions, With Totality Lasting Under 2.5 Minutes

3 articles · Updated · Science@NASA · Jun 8

A total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026 will sweep from northern Russia across Greenland and Iceland to Spain, with most viewers in the path seeing less than two minutes of totality.
Near the center line in Greenland, Russia and the North Atlantic, totality will stretch to just under 2.5 minutes; in Spain and Portugal it arrives late in the evening, shortly before sunset.
Outside the narrow totality path, a broad partial eclipse will span Alaska, Canada, the northern U.S., Europe and parts of Africa, ranging from 3% coverage in Detroit to 99% in Madrid and Barcelona.
Eye protection is required for all partial phases, and only the brief total phase is safe to view directly; eclipse glasses must meet ISO 12312-2, and optics need front-mounted solar filters.

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