For the first time in more than a century, a is coming to mainland Spain with an even longer encore next summer.
Toss in a crescendoing and a six-planet parade on the same day, and the heavens will be overflowing with awe.
will descend Aug. 12 across the Iberian Peninsula close to sunset 鈥� plus slivers of Greenland and Iceland 鈥� as the perfectly in the sky.
Starting near the North Pole before tracking south, totality will last up to two minutes and 18 seconds, an appetizer for an even longer solar show next year 鈥� a 6 陆-minute extravaganza that will sweep from Spain to North Africa and the Middle East.
It will take 1 陆 hours for the umbra, or moon鈥檚 sun-blocking shadow, to race along the 5,130-mile (8,260-kilometer) course, most of it over an empty Atlantic. Maximum totality will occur off Iceland鈥檚 west coast. By the time it reaches a small patch of Portugal and then Spain with its massive crowds, totality will have dwindled to a minute or so. The spectacle will end in the Mediterranean.
Eclipse chasers gear up for the solar spectacle
Hundreds of millions more on the sidelines are in for a treat as well.
A partial eclipse will delight as far away as Alaska and Siberia, enveloping Canada, the northern U.S., and much of Europe and West Africa.
The closer to totality鈥檚 course, the more the sun will vanish behind the moon 鈥� 94% coverage in Dublin and 83% in Oslo, Norway. Montreal will see an 18% bite out of the sun, tapering to 9% in New York and 2% in Norfolk, Virginia.
are crucial. even if a morsel of sun is showing.
Adding to the cosmic wonder, the day begins with six of our neighboring planets forming an arc in the sky before dawn and end with the Perseid meteor shower peaking after nightfall under the new moon. Streaking meteors could photobomb totality, with some of the brighter planets and stars visible in the background.
Eclipse mapmaker Michael Zeiler is chasing an even more elusive interloper: the northern lights.
For his 13th total solar eclipse, Zeiler will be on a cruise ship in a Greenland fjord, sailing as a guest lecturer. He鈥檒l point a video camera toward the north to capture any aurora forming during totality. A massive outburst from the sun would be the icing on his eclipse cake.
鈥淲hat gets me excited is viewing rare phenomena,鈥� Zeiler said in an email.
He鈥檚 not the only one revved up.
See who’s hosting solar eclipse watch parties and science experiments
The European Space Agency will host a live webcast from Spain鈥檚 Astrophysical Observatory of Javalambre and a public celebration in Leon. NASA will provide its own coverage, as will the Italian-based Virtual Telescope Project and others.
鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 not just a scientific moment. It鈥檚 not just an incredible alignment of heavenly bodies. It鈥檚 also a very human moment,鈥� said ESA鈥檚 director of science Carole Mundell. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a real human connection between us with our feet planted on the Earth and the cosmos.鈥�
Two of ESA鈥檚 space telescopes will observe the eclipsed sun and its corona, or outer atmosphere. , will be in the wrong part of its orbit during totality as seen from Earth, but will try to sneak in some before-and-after shots.
U.S. college research teams are also pitching in, launching more than 60 high-altitude balloons from Spain and Iceland to study Earth鈥檚 atmosphere and other changes during the eclipse when the temperature momentarily drops. They launched 10 times as many balloons during the .
鈥淎 couple of minutes isn鈥檛 a lot of time, but it鈥檚 still plenty to affect the atmosphere and to make that cold, dark shadow of the moon on Earth,鈥� said Montana State University鈥檚 Angela Des Jardins, who leads the NASA-funded balloon project.
Southwest Research Institute鈥檚 Amir Caspi also expects a scientific bonanza from his study aboard a NASA high-altitude plane. Four cameras will record the corona in nine wavelengths as the jet chases the eclipse at 460 mph (740 kph), extending totality to nearly three minutes in the air. Caspi anticipates thousands of images gathered from each camera during those precious 180 seconds.
“It鈥檚 true the eclipse is short, but it鈥檚 still incredibly valuable,” he said.
And there’s more to come
An exceptionally long total solar eclipse is in store for 2027, yielding nearly three times more observation time.
The southern tip of Spain will take center stage on Aug. 2, 2027, with up to six minutes and 23 seconds of totality extending into Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia.
Then on Jan. 26, 2028, a ring-of-fire eclipse will round out Spain鈥檚 celestial trifecta 鈥� 鈥渁 lucky coincidence,鈥� according to ESA鈥檚 Mundell.
It鈥檚 all the more extraordinary considering Spain鈥檚 last full solar eclipse 鈥� not counting the Canary Islands 鈥� occurred two days before the Titanic鈥檚 sinking in 1912. Because that rare hybrid eclipse toggled between a ring-of-fire and just a few seconds of totality for Spain, some consider 1905 for the country鈥檚 last pull-out-all-the-stops solar eclipse.
The Royal Observatory of Belgium鈥檚 Andrei Zhukov can鈥檛 get enough of them regardless of their length or origin. His Proba-3 science mission has created more than 60 simulated total solar eclipses over the past two years, with the longest lasting five hours and 38 minutes from two satellites flying in formation.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to more eclipses,鈥� Zhukov said, 鈥渘atural or artificial.鈥�
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