Overview
- The total solar eclipse on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, will track across parts of Iceland, Spain and Greenland with maximum totality of about 2 minutes and 18 seconds at the best locations.
- Much of Europe, including large parts of Germany, will experience a deep partial eclipse with the event beginning around 19:17–19:18 local time and the peak near 20:11–20:12 when the Sun will sit only a few degrees above the western horizon.
- National observatories and planetaria have scheduled public viewings and livestreams and commercial operators are selling trips, festivals and special train and boat outings for people who want to travel into the narrow path of totality.
- The Federal Office for Radiation Protection and other authorities strongly warn that ordinary sunglasses are unsafe and advise using ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses, projection methods, or properly filtered optics to avoid permanent eye damage.
- The eclipse is part of an eclipse season that will be followed by a partial lunar eclipse on August 28, and weather plus a clear western horizon will be the decisive factors for viewers who cannot reach the path of totality.