Total solar eclipse 2026: Where, when and how to watch on Wednesday?
Millions will see the sun disappear as the eclipse sweeps from the Arctic to Europe, bringing two minutes of totality. On Wednesday, millions of people
Millions will see the sun disappear as the eclipse sweeps from the Arctic to Europe, bringing two minutes of totality. On Wednesday, millions of people across Europe will get the chance to experience their first total solar eclipse in 27 years. Starting at 15:34 GMT, the brightness of the daylight hours will gradually be interrupted as the moon begins to block the sun, eventually turning day into sudden night for about two minutes along the path of totality. So which countries will see it? How do solar eclipses occur? Where and how can you watch it safely? In this visual explainer, Al Jazeera unpacks everything you need to know. What time is the solar eclipse? The time of the eclipse depends on where you are because the moon’s shadow will move across Earth’s surface from the Arctic towards Europe. Here is how Wednesday’s eclipse will unfold 15:34 GMT: The partial eclipse begins at the first location on Earth. The partial eclipse begins at the first location on Earth. 16:58 GMT: The total solar eclipse begins at the first location. The total solar eclipse begins at the first location. 17:46 GMT: The eclipse reaches its maximum with totality lasting about two minutes and 18 seconds near the centre of its path. The eclipse reaches its maximum with totality lasting about two minutes and 18 seconds near the centre of its path. About 17:48 GMT: The eclipse reaches its maximum in Reykjavik, Iceland. The eclipse reaches its maximum in Reykjavik, Iceland. About 18:27 GMT: Totality reaches Spain. Totality reaches Spain. 18:34 GMT: The total eclipse phase ends globally.
The total eclipse phase ends globally. 19:58 GMT: The partial eclipse ends at the last location on Earth. Which countries will see the eclipse? The path of totality, which is when the moon orbits in front of the sun and blocks its entire surface facing Earth, will cross northern Russia, Greenland and Iceland before sweeping across Spain and a small part of Portugal, bringing almost total darkness to about 15 million people. A partial eclipse will be visible across much of Western Europe, parts of Northwest Africa, most of Canada and part of the northern United States. Overall, about 980 million people, nearly one in eight worldwide, might see the sun at least partly covered depending on weather conditions. Will the eclipse be visible in Europe? Most of Europe should see a partial eclipse in the evening around sunset. In Paris, roughly 92 percent of the sun will be covered, in London 91 percent and in Berlin 85 percent. For most European cities farther east, the sun will set before the eclipse reaches its maximum point, meaning the deepest part of the eclipse will never appear in the sky. Will the eclipse be visible in the US and Canada? Yes, but only as a partial eclipse. In Canada, the northeastern city of St John’s, Newfoundland, will see about 53 percent coverage, dropping to 18 percent in Montreal and 8 percent in Toronto. In the US, parts of Alaska will see the deepest eclipse in the country with about 37 percent of the sun covered in Fairbanks and 28 percent in Anchorage. Coverage will be much lower elsewhere in the US at about 24 percent in Bangor, Maine, 9 percent in New York and just 3 percent in Detroit, Michigan.
The BriefWire