Overview
- The total solar eclipse will occur on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, with a narrow path of totality sweeping from northern Siberia across Greenland and Iceland before finishing over the Iberian Peninsula.
- Much of northern Spain lies inside the path so cities such as A Coruña, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Tarragona, València and Palma will see totality while other areas will experience a deep partial eclipse.
- Authorities have set official viewing points and are distributing ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses at scale, including about 150,000 units from the Generalitat of Catalonia and 50,000 from the Ayuntamiento de Madrid, with ONCE also making distributions.
- Large security and transport operations are in place, for example Castilla-La Mancha mobilized more than 1,000 agents and Renfe scheduled special trains, while Portugal’s grid operator REN is preparing measures to cover an estimated temporary PV shortfall of around 450 megawatts.
- Scientific teams will deploy telescopes, aircraft and balloons to study the solar corona and atmospheric effects, NASA will livestream the event for viewers outside the path, and observers are warned that brief totality and low sun angles near sunset make clear western horizons and cloud-free skies essential for an on-site view.