On 12 August 2026, the skies above Europe appeared to darken as the Moon passed in front of the Sun, creating a total solar eclipse.
The path of totality passed through northern Spain and over Greenland, where the sky was plunged into darkness for over two minutes.
Across the rest of Western Europe, the skies darkened as the Moon blocked out around 90 per cent of the Sun’s disc. The eclipse was even visible in Canada and the northeast US.
Though several eclipses happen every year, the chances of them happening in a specific location can be quite rare. In fact, the last time the path of totality passed across Europe was in 1999.
The continent won’t have to wait that long this time though. Another solar eclipse will pass along the northern coast of Africa, just brushing the southern tip of Spain, on 2 August 2027.
