Overview
- The Moon will cover roughly 89–96% of the Sun across the UK, with the partial eclipse expected to begin around 5:59 pm BST, reach maximum near 7:13 pm BST and end near 8:10 pm BST on Wednesday 12 August 2026.
- South‑west England — especially Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Devon — will see the deepest obscuration and generally offer the best domestic viewing because the Sun will be low over the western horizon.
- Do not look directly at the Sun without proper equipment; use ISO 12312‑2 certified eclipse glasses, front‑mounted solar filters for cameras or telescopes, or indirect methods such as a pinhole projector to avoid permanent eye damage.
- Hours after the eclipse the Perseid meteor shower peaks overnight on August 12–13, creating a rare back‑to‑back spectacle under a new moon but one that depends on clear weather and unobstructed skies.
- Totality will be confined to a narrow track crossing Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain and the next UK‑visible total eclipse is not expected until September 2090, which may drive travel to coastal viewing sites and increase local crowding and weather‑related disruption.