Europe decided after 27 years: Full solar eclipse passed Iceland and northern Spain
The precision strip passed through Siberia, Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain.In Spain, the sun was clear when the horizon was just a few degrees above — and the Iberian Peninsula had not seen it for a century.
The full solar eclipse took place on August 12, 2026. The exact strip began in a deserted region of Siberia, passing through a very small section of eastern Greenland, the western coast of Iceland, northern Spain and Portugal.
The maximum full time of the eclipse was 2 minutes and 18 seconds. For observers in Spain, this time was 1 minute and 50 seconds. In Greenland and Iceland, the sun set in the early evening with the end of the afternoon, while in the northwestern end of Spain and Portugal, the full time occurred shortly before the sunset, in the late hours of the evening.
This is the first full solar eclipse visible from the European mainland since 1999 and the first observed from the Iberian Peninsula in more than a century. The fact that the sun is just a few degrees above the western horizon during accuracy can create a striking picture along with a dark landscape. A large section of the Northern Hemisphere — the north of the U.S., a large part of Canada, most of Europe and northwest Africa — will be followed by partial eclipse.
Evaluation of MHA
The multicultural impact of this eclipse will be greater than the scientific value: 27 years later on the European mainland, it is seen in the Iberian Peninsula for a long time after a century, so the overwhelming majority of viewers will experience it for the first time. The eclipse of the sun over several degrees of the horizon makes its accuracy extraordinary both in terms of photography and in terms of observation; the low angle makes even the smallest cloud cover defining.
