{"id":723829,"date":"2026-08-02T04:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T04:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/723829\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T04:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T04:02:10","slug":"solar-eclipse-2026-will-see-nearly-whole-of-sun-covered-by-moon-over-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/723829\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar Eclipse 2026 will see nearly whole of sun covered by moon over UK"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A partial eclipse will be visible from the UK on Wednesday, August 12<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Solar eclipse\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0_Total-Solar-Eclipse-Stretches-Across-North-America-From-Mexico-To-Canada.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"A solar eclipse will be visible from the UK and Europe on the evening of August 12\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">A solar eclipse will be visible from the UK and Europe on the evening of August 12(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">An exciting moment is approaching for sky watchers across the world, as a solar eclipse is set to take place in a matter of weeks. On August 12, <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/news\/uk-news\/how-see-solar-eclipse-shooting-34345894\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">a partial solar eclipse<\/a> will be visible across the UK, while a total eclipse will be visible from parts of Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">For the UK , the eclipse will see the Moon pass between the Earth and the Sun, obscuring around 90 per cent of the Sun from large parts of the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">It is set to be <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/news\/uk-news\/what-solar-eclipse-rare-celestial-34335957\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">the deepest solar eclipse<\/a> visible from the UK since the famous 1999 event, when totality crossed parts of Cornwall and Devon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a aria-label=\"Click hereLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/newsletter-preference-centre\/?view=Solus&amp;mailingListId=b8052254-66af-41f3-9dae-7bbb0e3391c6&amp;utm_source=solusarticle\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Click here<\/a> to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">In Greater Manchester, sky watchers are set to see the moon cover around 91% of the sun&#8217;s light. In parts of Ireland, including Dublin, the moon could obscure 94 per cent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">People who are visiting European holiday hotspots, including the Balearic Islands in Spain, will be lucky enough to see totality, which is when the moon covers 100 per cent of the sun. This will also be witnessed from parts of mainland Spain, including Bilbao, and the western strip of Iceland, which includes Reykjavik.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The moon passes in front of the sun during a solar eclipse on April 08, 2024 in Martin Ohio\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785643330_300_0_Total-Solar-Eclipse-Stretches-Across-North-America-From-Mexico-To-Canada.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"The upcoming event is set to be\u00a0the deepest solar eclipse\u00a0visible from the UK since the famous 1999 event, when totality crossed parts of Cornwall and Devon\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">The upcoming event is set to be\u00a0the deepest solar eclipse\u00a0visible from the UK since the famous 1999 event, when totality crossed parts of Cornwall and Devon(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A spokesman for Royal Museums Greenwich said: &#8220;The new Moon and the Sun will gradually move closer together in the sky in the late afternoon. As the side facing us will be dark, the Moon will be invisible without specialist equipment,&#8221; reports <a aria-label=\"Wales Online.Link opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/news\/uk-news\/how-see-eclipse-uk-skies-34315419?tblci=GiD5qJZDFHPP0IGC2jNz6m9YLIPFwqN593ANea2wXXf_UyDi3kUo1P_dlvK68MX6ATDOtz8\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Wales Online.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;At 6.17pm from London (timings vary slightly from other parts of the UK and Ireland), &#8216;first contact&#8217; will occur, when the Moon first covers part of the disk of the Sun. The Moon will move slowly in front of the Sun until roughly 90 per cent of the Sun is covered (the eclipse&#8217;s maximum). This will be at 7.12pm from London.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;At the maximum, enough of the Sun will be covered to make a noticeable difference in the temperature and light levels. However, unlike with a total eclipse, the sky will not become dark \u2013 it will feel more like a cloudy day or close to dusk or dawn.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">They added: &#8220;After the maximum, the Moon will then slowly move off the Sun&#8217;s disk until the eclipse ends, at 8.06pm from London. Getting to a high point with a clear view of the western horizon will allow you to see the whole event.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Below is a list of areas across<a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/news\/uk-news\/popular-european-holiday-hotspots-tourists-34359112\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\"> the UK and Europe <\/a>and how much of the sun&#8217;s light will be obscured by the moon on the evening of August 12.<\/p>\n<p>How much of the sun will be covered by the moon<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">UK<\/p>\n<p>Greater Manchester, England: 91%London, England: 91%Birmingham, England: 91%Dublin, Ireland: 94%Belfast, Northern Ireland: 93%Edinburgh, Scotland: 90%Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England: 90%Cardiff, Wales: 93%<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Europe<\/p>\n<p>Balearic Islands, Spain: 100%Barcelona, Spain: 99.85%Malaga, Spain: 94%Bilbao, Spain: 100%Madrid: 99.97%Lisbon, Portugal: 94%Porto, Portugal: 98%Faro, Portugal: 92%Paris, France: 92%Monaco, France: 94%Bordeaux, France: 97%Basel, Switzerland: 90%Florence, Italy: 93%Reykjavik, Iceland: 100%Agadir, Morocco: 79%<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A partial eclipse will be visible from the UK on Wednesday, August 12 A solar eclipse will be&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":723830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1813,59,90,416,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-723829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-astronomy","tag-gb","tag-science","tag-space","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}