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<\/a> An animation of the August 12th eclipse. Credit: NASA\/GSFC\/A.T. Sinclair.<\/p>\nThe path is a unique one as eclipses go. Totality touches down off of the Arctic coast of far eastern Russia near the far-flung Saint Peter Islands and the small village of Syndassko at 16:58 Universal Time (UT). The umbral shadow of the Moon then loops and just misses the Earth\u2019s northern<\/a> rotational pole by less than 100 kilometers, sweeping down across Greenland, nicking Iceland and crossing the North Atlantic before grazing Portugal and heading across northeastern Spain towards a photogenic sunset over the Spanish islands of Mallorca and the western Mediterranean Sea. <\/p>\n Totality\u2019s trail presents a challenge, featuring an ocean track with very few landfalls. The Basque region of Spain presents the biggest swath of ground witnessing totality, though the region has also been plagued with record-setting heat and destructive fires this summer. <\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth noting that partial phases outside of the track extend across Europe, northwestern Africa and a good portion of North America. Viewers across the northeastern U.S. and the Canadian Maritimes might want to dig out those eclipse glasses from 2024 if skies are clear on the 12th, to catch part of the show. Partial phases for the eclipse run from 15:34 to 19:57 UT, with the peak right around 17:45 UT.<\/p>\n Observers along the U.S. East Coast will want to look for a maximum partial phase just before 18:00UT\/2:00 PM EDT.<\/p>\n Viewing and Safety<\/p>\n The sunset eclipse across Spain will be low to the horizon, with an altitude of just under five degrees for Spain\u2019s eastern shore. This could spell trouble for viewers if any clouds turn up on eclipse day, though it does offer opportunities to catch the eclipsed Sun along with foreground objects.<\/p>\n Remember, you need to take proper safety precautions during all partial phases of the eclipse. Even a 99% eclipsed Sun is still eye-damaging bright. Be sure to check those old glasses prior to use, and only use glasses with an approved ISO 12312-2<\/a> rating on them from a trusted vendor and beware of counterfeits<\/a> NASA has a great resource page<\/a> covering eclipse safety.<\/p>\n Projection offers a good safe alternative. A spaghetti strainer, lattice work, and even gaps in tree leaves can act as natural projectors during the partial phases of a solar eclipse. This effect is especially noticeable against sidewalks, walls and high contrast surfaces. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Totality passes quickly. My impression during the 2024 eclipse<\/a> was as if someone had abruptly thrown a dimmer switch on the sky. We were then immersed in a strange 360 degree twilight as the Moon\u2019s shadow sped past. Watch for animals and insects to be fooled into nocturnal activity with the sudden onset of totality. Humans can act strangely, too. What struck me as surprising were the number of people still driving around during totality (!) Did they even know there was an eclipse that day?<\/p>\n Watch for crimson prominences on the solar limb, and the pearly white corona of the Sun bracketing the Moon. About twice the brightness of a Full Moon, the source of the corona was a mystery until astronomer Warren de la Rue<\/a> pegged it correctly as a product of the Sun (versus the Moon or the Earth\u2019s own atmosphere) in 1860. Coincidentally, de la Rue was also observing from northern Spain. You only see the elusive corona during totality. The sky itself during totality is brighter than you might think. Watch for brilliant -4.4 magnitude Venus 46 degrees east of the Sun as totality approaches.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n They always say to photograph your second total solar eclipse, but simply watch and enjoy your first. One of several eclipse chasers headed to Spain to once again witness totality is astrophotographer Chris Becke:<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAfter successfully making it into the path of totality in 2017 and 2024 and being fortunate enough to have had clear skies for both, my wife and I will be trying for our third totality\u2014this time in the Asturias region of Spain, where the Sun will be fully eclipsed for one minute and 47 seconds.\u201d Becke told Universe Today. \u201cI booked lodging nearly a year ago, and followed it up about a month later with airline tickets from Washington DC to Madrid, knowing high demand was inevitable. We’ve located a viewing spot on a nearby hilltop with panoramic views (and a convenient restaurant and toilet) to spend the day.”<\/p>\n \u201cBecause totality will occur with the Sun just 10 degrees above the western horizon, getting a clean, unobstructed landscape view is critical. I\u2019m working on imaging plans that will be as \u2018set it and forget it\u2019 as possible so as not to distract from the experience. I\u2019ll have a DWARF mini taking a continuous time-lapse from first to last contact; I’m leaving the included solar filter on the entire time just to capture the partial phases without needing to touch the rig. For totality, I will be running my Fujifilm X-T4 and X-M5. One is paired with an 18mm lens to capture a wide-field view of the low-altitude eclipse against the Spanish landscape, while the other is zoomed in to 600mm for a close-up of the corona. Both will be programmed for bracketed exposures and automatic interval timing. All I\u2019ll have to do is pull the solar filters and press each shutter once. Of course, hoping for clear skies.\u201d <\/p>\n Tales of the Saros<\/p>\n A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon\u2019s path intersects the ecliptic plane near New phase, passing between the Earth and the Sun. The Moon\u2019s path is inclined 5.15 degrees versus the ecliptic. If it was flat with the ecliptic, we\u2019d see eclipses every month. As it stands, eclipses happen in biannual seasons. This month\u2019s total solar eclipse season starts with the August 12th total solar eclipse, and is bracketed by a deep partial lunar eclipse for the Americas on August 28th.<\/p>\n This eclipse is a member of saros series 126, which started on March 10th, 1179 and runs out until its final slim partial solar eclipse on May 3rd, 2459. In fact, this is the second to last total solar eclipse for saros series 126<\/a>, with the series producing totality one last time on August 23rd, 2044.<\/p>\n From the Earthward side of the Moon looking back, you would see the shadow of our satellite crossing the disk of our fair world. Weather satellites, solar observing missions, and even iSpace\u2019s ill-fated Hakuto-R mission<\/a> have captured this scene from space. It\u2019s often said that Earth\u2019s solar eclipses are a rarity, but they\u2019re actually a happy result of our place in time and space. Even in the current epoch, annular eclipses are more common than totals, as the Moon slowly recedes from the Earth. What\u2019s more, the major moons of Jupiter<\/a> see \u2018em, too, as one moon passes in front of the other.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Can you seeing aurora during a total solar eclipse? Certainly prospects are slim, though a polar eclipse would offer the best circumstances. You\u2019d need a powerful solar storm hitting the Earth, at just the right time. Observers during the 2015 eclipse<\/a> over Svalbard came up with a null result. This year, NASA\u2019s Liz MacDonald<\/a> plans to take another shot at this rare observation from Iceland. Note that the August eclipse transpires during the peak of the 2026 Perseid meteors. Now, a shot featuring totality, aurora and a Perseid would be the capture of a lifetime. <\/p>\n<\/a> The path of the August 12th total solar eclipse. Credit: Michael Zeiler.<\/p>\n<\/a> The southern edge of the partial phases for the August 12th total solar eclipse over North America. Credit: Xavier Jubier.<\/p>\n<\/a> A partial solar eclipse over the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in 2013. Credit: Dave Dickinson.<\/p>\n<\/a> Crescent Suns seen across the surface of Lake Turkana, during the 2013 hybrid\/annular solar eclipse. Credit: Eliot Herman.<\/p>\n<\/a> Totality! Captured in 2023 from western Australia. Credit: Eliot Herman.<\/p>\n