Tarragona, Spain
Babak Tafreshi & Amirreza Kamkar
National Geographic photographer Babak Tafreshi, working with Amirreza Kamkar, documented the eclipse in collaboration with the city council of Tarragona, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Catalonia. Tafreshi, who has photographed 15 eclipses since the 1990s, positioned eight cameras around the city to capture the eclipse alongside Tarragona’s Roman ruins, medieval architecture, port, and present-day crowds.
For Tafreshi, eclipses are about more than astronomy. “It’s beyond the cover of science and astronomy and physics—it has this relationship to humans, which makes it very unique,” he said in an interview with ABC News ahead of the eclipse. “It brings us all together.” Eclipse chasers arrive from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds, he adds, “sharing one common passion through mother nature.”
Italy: A Partial Spectacle
National Geographic Explorer Camilla Ferrari documented the August 12, 2026, eclipse from Santuario di Soviore (Soviore’s Sanctuary) in Monterosso, Liguria, Italy. While Italy sat outside the path of totality, viewers there could still watch the moon partially cover the sun. The La Spezia Amateur Astronomers Association of the Monte Viseggi Science Park organized a viewing event at the sanctuary, bringing together astronomy enthusiasts to experience the partial eclipse.
“I was just in awe,” Ferrari says. “It is so special to be able to witness events like these because they put in perspective our position in the cosmos, and the correlations that tie every element within it, in a sort of dance. It’s such a special feeling.”
Editor’s note: This story will be updated throughout the day as more images, observations, and details from the eclipse become available.
Starlight Williams is a digital editor at National Geographic covering health, wellness, and spectacular events in the night sky.