Overview
- The total solar eclipse crossed a narrow corridor from northern Siberia over Greenland and Iceland to northern Spain and the Balearic Islands on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, producing totality inside that strip.
- In Germany the event was a deep partial eclipse that began in the far north around 19:11 local time and reached Munich about 19:23, peaking at roughly 85–90 percent coverage between about 20:05 and 20:15 before ending at local sunset.
- Spanish totality zones drew heavy visitor numbers, booked‑out hotels and long traffic queues, with authorities deploying police and distribution plans to manage crowds on the mainland and Mallorca.
- Health and safety officials warned that uncertified filters and ordinary sunglasses are unsafe, reports said certified solar‑eclipse glasses sold out in many German cities and institutions offered limited free distributions and projection methods as alternatives.
- NASA and the European Space Agency provided live feeds and observatory coverage for viewers outside the path of totality while planetaria and amateur groups ran public programs, and the night also coincided with the Perseids meteor‑shower peak.