Overview
- The total solar eclipse will cross a narrow northern‑hemisphere path on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, with Spain seeing totality in a wide west‑to‑east band and the Instituto Geográfico Nacional giving a global maximum duration of 2 minutes 18 seconds and city‑specific start, peak and end times.
- National and regional authorities have activated official observation sites and large distribution campaigns for certified eyewear, including a national initiative with ONCE supplying roughly 2 million ISO 12312‑2:2015 glasses and regional allocations such as 150,000 for Lleida and Tarragona.
- Officials are amplifying warnings about counterfeit or mislabelled filters and say ordinary sunglasses, improvised materials or unfiltered cameras and binoculars can cause irreversible retinal damage; certified filters must bear EN/ISO 12312‑2 labeling and proper CE documentation.
- Traffic and public‑order measures aim to limit danger from mass travel: the DGT bans stopping on motorways and hard shoulders to view the eclipse with typical fines of about €200 rising to €500 if the stop is dangerous, and driving while filming or photographing carries roughly €200 and license‑point penalties.
- Scientific and media plans include NASA‑backed live broadcasts, a WB‑57 research aircraft to study the solar corona, high‑altitude balloon experiments to sample atmospheric changes, and local contingency plans for hundreds of thousands to more than a million extra trips that could boost tourism spending.