See the 2026 total solar eclipse from around the world
From a partial eclipse over Berlin to totality over Spain, see some of the incredible images of the August 12 total solar eclipse
A drone image of the total solar eclipse over Spain.
This article is part of a special report on the total solar eclipse that will offer the best views from the Arctic Circle, Iceland, Spain and parts of Portugal on August 12, 2026.
Sky-gazers have been captivated by the 2026 total solar eclipse, the first of its kind to pass over mainland Europe in some three decades.
On August 12, for a few brief moments, about one billion people across Europe, North Africa, North America and the Arctic experienced partly or fully dark skies as the moon passed directly in front of our star, obliterating its light.
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The path of totality—the region with the greatest view of the solar eclipse—passed over northern Russia, Iceland, Greenland, Spain and parts of Portugal. For anyone inside the path of totality, dramatic changes could be seen in the moments before the moon covered the sun, creating a false twilight.
Scientific American contributor and eclipse chaser Lucie McCormick was on the ground in Spain near its capital of Madrid. From there, she captured several stunning images of the total solar eclipse as it passed over the skies. In this image, you can see the fiery red of a solar prominence on the left edge of the sun—a huge, bright structure made of plasma and magnetic fields looping up from the sun's surface into its corona.
A view of the total solar eclipse from Spain on August 12, 2026.
Parts of the U.S. experienced only limited partial eclipses. Still, sky-gazers captured the International Space Station passing in front of the partially eclipsed sun in the sky over Maine.
The International Space Station, with a crew of seven onboard, is seen in silhouette as it transits across the sun at roughly five miles per second on August 12, 2026, from a view near Hodgdon, Me.
Viewers in Berlin and London were greeted with a partial eclipse, meaning the moon did not fully cover the sun.
The partial solar eclipse is pictured on August 12, 2026, in Berlin.
Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images
Source: Read the original article on www.scientificamerican.com
