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Total solar eclipse to darken Spain for first time in over a century

A total solar eclipse will cross mainland Spain on 12 August, the first in more than 100 years, with maximum totality occurring off Iceland's west coast. A partial eclipse will be visible across much of Europe, Canada, the northern US and West Africa.

  • Totality will last up to two minutes and 18 seconds, but will have dwindled to about a minute by the time it reaches Spain.
  • A partial eclipse will bring 94% sun coverage in Dublin and 83% in Oslo.
  • The same day will feature a six-planet parade before dawn and the Perseid meteor shower peaking after nightfall.

A total solar eclipse will sweep across mainland Spain on 12 August, marking the first time in more than 100 years the country has experienced one. Daytime darkness will descend close to sunset across the Iberian Peninsula, as well as parts of Greenland and Iceland.

Totality will last up to two minutes and 18 seconds, with maximum totality occurring off Iceland's west coast. By the time the moon's shadow reaches Portugal and Spain, totality will have reduced to about a minute before the spectacle ends in the Mediterranean.

A partial eclipse will be visible much more widely, including in Canada, the northern US, much of Europe and West Africa. Dublin will see 94% coverage of the sun, Oslo 83%, Montreal 18%, New York 9% and Norfolk, Virginia 2%.

Special eclipse glasses are crucial, even when only a small portion of the sun is visible, according to the report.

The European Space Agency will host a live webcast from Spain's Astrophysical Observatory of Javalambre and a public celebration in Leon. NASA and the Virtual Telescope Project will also provide coverage.

Why this matters: The eclipse offers a rare celestial event for mainland Spain, which has not seen a full solar eclipse since 1912, and will be visible to hundreds of millions of people across multiple continents.

What this means for you: If you are in the path of totality or within the partial eclipse zone, you should use special eclipse glasses to view the event safely.

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