// SPACE.COM — SPAZIO & SCIENZA
Millions could see a rare sunset during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. Here's where to look
Plan now to be in the right place at the right time for an unforgettable show.
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On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will be visible in eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain. Eclipse chasers will travel to the path in droves, keen to witness a relatively short but ultimately dramatic totality. From Spain, eclipse chasers on the east coast will witness the rare spectacle on land of a totally eclipsed sun just a couple of degrees above the western horizon, minutes from sunset.
Read more: Total solar eclipse 2026 — Everything you need to know
What many eclipse chasers — and those unable to travel to the path of totality — may overlook is the massive partial solar eclipse visible across Europe. Across almost the entire continent, a huge chunk of the sun will appear eclipsed. Even rarer, a partially eclipsed sunset will be visible in France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Russia, Finland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Italy, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Albania. In Northwest Africa, a similar view awaits Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, Mali, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso.
This promises to be a mighty event that millions can view in some form — but do many know about it yet? Here's what you need to know about seeing a partial solar eclipse across Europe on Aug. 12, 2026.
The black line on the map above shows where the maximum partial eclipse will happen at sunset. In Warsaw, Poland, for example, the sun will be 83% eclipsed — the maximum there — as it sets. For locations just east of the black line, the sun sets before the partial eclipse ends. Just to the west, sunset occurs as the partial eclipse deepens.
So where should you be? For the best deep partial eclipse shots at sunset, position yourself west of the black line. Being on the line or just east of it will also work. It's less strict than the path of totality. Still, being close to the line on the northwest side is ideal.
Just remember that for all the focus on lines on a map, the spectacle itself — the deep partial eclipsed sunset — will take place on the horizon in the west-northwest.
"People living along the black sunset line will experience a beautiful deep partial eclipse at sunset," Michael Zeiler, eclipse cartographer, told Space.com. "Some ideal locations to see this over water are Algiers, Corsica, the Italian coast by the Ligurian Sea, and Venice, while High Alpine spots in eastern Austria will also have a dramatic sunset — a photographer's dream."