I expected the corona to be off color due to the low angle and interior Spain’s dusty skies. The pics make it look yellow but eye view was off white.
Eclipse August 12, 2026
- Thread starter thebum2
- Start date
How did this one rate compared to others in recent years? I'm still partial to my brother's amateur pic at Lake Champlain in April 2024.
ChrisC
Well-known member
So there is a bigger, better, longer eclipse almost in the same location next summer?
Gibraltar 2027 vs. Valencia 2026
Missed Wednesday’s total solar eclipse in Europe? Don’t worry — another one is just around the corner.
A total solar eclipse takes place over any given location on average once every 375 years — but there’s one somewhere around the world every 18 months or so. It just happens that we’re in the midst of a busy stretch for eclipses in populated zones. The next solar eclipse is less than a year away.
It occurs Aug. 2, 2027, and will last three to four times longer than the one this week. For the next eclipse, the path of totality passes directly over the Strait of Gibraltar, as well as far-southern Spain, Gibraltar and Tangier in far-northern Morocco. Then it passes over the Alboran Sea and Oran, Algeria, after which northern Tunisia is in the zone.
Benghazi, Libya, is on the centerline and will receive six minutes of totality. (The city is directly in the middle of the 157-mile-wide shadow.) Egypt, however, may have the best view — Luxor is in the middle of the totality belt and gets 6 minutes 23 seconds of totality. Because of the vast deserts in Egypt, weather prospects are superb.
No other solar eclipse visible from land will offer a longer duration of totality until the year 2114.
For the 2027 eclipse, totality will then pass over the Red Sea, southern Saudi Arabia, southern Yemen and northern Somalia. The path will end in the Indian Ocean.
The eclipse will be the longest since the one on July 22, 2009. That one brought totality to India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, northern Bhutan, extreme northern Myanmar and China (including Shanghai). The maximum duration was 6 minutes 39 seconds, but that happened over the open Pacific. That means the 2027 eclipse will feature more totality on land.
In other words, the next eclipse will be spectacular. In Egypt, the sun will be almost directly overhead (80 degrees up). That means skywatchers will be able to lie on the ground and stare upward during totality. Moreover, the path will be exceptionally wide (160 miles in Egypt), making for a darker eclipse.
And the shadow will be almost perfectly round, which will lead to a particularly spectacular 360-degree “sunrise” phenomenon — when the horizon still glows in a twilight hue from light sitting outside the path of totality.
Link
Gibraltar 2027 vs. Valencia 2026
Didn’t catch the eclipse in Europe? The next one is in less than a year.
Another total solar eclipse will take place next August, with a path of totality passing over the Strait of Gibraltar, Libya and Egypt.Missed Wednesday’s total solar eclipse in Europe? Don’t worry — another one is just around the corner.
A total solar eclipse takes place over any given location on average once every 375 years — but there’s one somewhere around the world every 18 months or so. It just happens that we’re in the midst of a busy stretch for eclipses in populated zones. The next solar eclipse is less than a year away.
It occurs Aug. 2, 2027, and will last three to four times longer than the one this week. For the next eclipse, the path of totality passes directly over the Strait of Gibraltar, as well as far-southern Spain, Gibraltar and Tangier in far-northern Morocco. Then it passes over the Alboran Sea and Oran, Algeria, after which northern Tunisia is in the zone.
Benghazi, Libya, is on the centerline and will receive six minutes of totality. (The city is directly in the middle of the 157-mile-wide shadow.) Egypt, however, may have the best view — Luxor is in the middle of the totality belt and gets 6 minutes 23 seconds of totality. Because of the vast deserts in Egypt, weather prospects are superb.
No other solar eclipse visible from land will offer a longer duration of totality until the year 2114.
For the 2027 eclipse, totality will then pass over the Red Sea, southern Saudi Arabia, southern Yemen and northern Somalia. The path will end in the Indian Ocean.
The eclipse will be the longest since the one on July 22, 2009. That one brought totality to India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, northern Bhutan, extreme northern Myanmar and China (including Shanghai). The maximum duration was 6 minutes 39 seconds, but that happened over the open Pacific. That means the 2027 eclipse will feature more totality on land.
In other words, the next eclipse will be spectacular. In Egypt, the sun will be almost directly overhead (80 degrees up). That means skywatchers will be able to lie on the ground and stare upward during totality. Moreover, the path will be exceptionally wide (160 miles in Egypt), making for a darker eclipse.
And the shadow will be almost perfectly round, which will lead to a particularly spectacular 360-degree “sunrise” phenomenon — when the horizon still glows in a twilight hue from light sitting outside the path of totality.
Link
There are interesting effects from both the low angle (apparent larger size, shadow cone visibility) and the shorter totality (more red chromosphere visible near second and third contacts).
But yes, for those who have never seen a TSE, the longer totality and better clear weather odds next year are reasons to prioritize that one.
But yes, for those who have never seen a TSE, the longer totality and better clear weather odds next year are reasons to prioritize that one.
Weathertoski
Member
This was my second total eclipse, the first having been in Cornwall, U.K., in August 1999. So, after all the anticipation, was it worth the hype?
Yes and no.
We made the very late decision to head to Menorca, just a week before the event, largely because flights were ridiculously cheap – around £40 each return! Presumably, this was because there was hardly any accommodation left, but we struck lucky and stumbled across a two-night vacancy in a villa in Cala Blanca, on the west coast.
Having left home at 3am on Tuesday morning with less than two hours’ sleep under our belts, the pressure was on to make the trip a success – not least because my eldest son had needed some convincing to join us in this last-minute folly. The rest of Tuesday passed in something of a blur as we scoured the rocky coastline in search of the perfect viewing spot.
Chosen viewing area with headland to N.W
The stress was turned up a notch on Wednesday morning as we considered whether a headland to our north-west might threaten our line of sight, but we need not have worried. So we made our way down to our chosen spot at the top of some low cliffs about an hour before kick-off. The local roads were blocked off by the police, which seemed a bit over the top but added to the anticipation – as did the arrival of some news crews, despite the relatively modest public turnout. I did my best to get interviewed but was duly ignored.
Under clear skies, proceedings got underway at 7.37, marked by some polite applause from fellow enthusiasts. Glasses at the ready, the first thing that struck me was that the “bite” taken out of the sun was visible almost immediately, which contradicted what ChatGPT had told me earlier. I thought it might be at least 5 minutes. What did take a while, probably 20 minutes or so, was the first sign that the light was changing, but after that it was one of the more interesting parts of the experience, especially as things started to accelerate 15 minutes or so before totality. At this point, you could look away briefly and then visibly notice the change in light looking back. The effect was also different to a normal sunset in that the sky above went darker than normal relative to the peripheries (in a normal sunset the sky above remains more illuminated). Then, as I remembered from 1999, the last couple of minutes is like someone is literally turning the dimmer switch, though there wasn’t the same shadow effect racing across the landscape as I had experienced in Cornwall.
Then (mini) disaster. After all the hype, a small band of high cloud intervened in the final moments and obscured the actual moment of totality. Despite the disappointment, the by then considerable crowd (several hundred scattered across a 200m or so cliff top) burst into a spontaneous spine-tingling round of applause. We also remembered to appreciate other aspects of the eclipse, such as the emergence of stars, the obvious lowering of the temperature, etc.
Totality! You can JUST make out the sun from this shot but not really with the naked eye.
Nice vibe during totality
So we didn’t get any corona display, but we did get a good “diamond ring”. Also, the big bonus of a spectacular last 15 minutes or so as the sun dipped below and/or re-penetrated the pesky cloud band and gave us a memorable finale. In the last moments, as you can see from the photos, I can only think to describe the sun as looking like a molten banana, first resting on the horizon, then pivoting into a vertical position, Titanic style, before plunging beneath the waves. At 6ft 5, and by now standing up, I also like to think I got some added value by stealing half a second on my comrades.
Going going gone. The surreal final moments before the real sunset...
I hadn’t really planned to take any photos in case it jeopardised the whole experience, but did manage a couple during the ill-fated totality and then several, as seen here, between totality and sunset which were really spectacular.
So overall, no regrets, good fun if a bit rushed. Loved the group vibe and the anticipation. A bit unlucky with totality, but that was always a risk when the sun was at 2 degrees – I don’t think the same cloud would have been any issue a bit higher. And very glad we got those otherworldly shots just before sunset. The main downside for me, apart from the moment of totality, was that the approaching darkness in the final moments was less overwhelming/spectacular than in 1999, though probably because it wasn't in the middle of the day.
Yes and no.
We made the very late decision to head to Menorca, just a week before the event, largely because flights were ridiculously cheap – around £40 each return! Presumably, this was because there was hardly any accommodation left, but we struck lucky and stumbled across a two-night vacancy in a villa in Cala Blanca, on the west coast.
Having left home at 3am on Tuesday morning with less than two hours’ sleep under our belts, the pressure was on to make the trip a success – not least because my eldest son had needed some convincing to join us in this last-minute folly. The rest of Tuesday passed in something of a blur as we scoured the rocky coastline in search of the perfect viewing spot.
Chosen viewing area with headland to N.W
The stress was turned up a notch on Wednesday morning as we considered whether a headland to our north-west might threaten our line of sight, but we need not have worried. So we made our way down to our chosen spot at the top of some low cliffs about an hour before kick-off. The local roads were blocked off by the police, which seemed a bit over the top but added to the anticipation – as did the arrival of some news crews, despite the relatively modest public turnout. I did my best to get interviewed but was duly ignored.
Under clear skies, proceedings got underway at 7.37, marked by some polite applause from fellow enthusiasts. Glasses at the ready, the first thing that struck me was that the “bite” taken out of the sun was visible almost immediately, which contradicted what ChatGPT had told me earlier. I thought it might be at least 5 minutes. What did take a while, probably 20 minutes or so, was the first sign that the light was changing, but after that it was one of the more interesting parts of the experience, especially as things started to accelerate 15 minutes or so before totality. At this point, you could look away briefly and then visibly notice the change in light looking back. The effect was also different to a normal sunset in that the sky above went darker than normal relative to the peripheries (in a normal sunset the sky above remains more illuminated). Then, as I remembered from 1999, the last couple of minutes is like someone is literally turning the dimmer switch, though there wasn’t the same shadow effect racing across the landscape as I had experienced in Cornwall.
Then (mini) disaster. After all the hype, a small band of high cloud intervened in the final moments and obscured the actual moment of totality. Despite the disappointment, the by then considerable crowd (several hundred scattered across a 200m or so cliff top) burst into a spontaneous spine-tingling round of applause. We also remembered to appreciate other aspects of the eclipse, such as the emergence of stars, the obvious lowering of the temperature, etc.
Totality! You can JUST make out the sun from this shot but not really with the naked eye.
Nice vibe during totality
So we didn’t get any corona display, but we did get a good “diamond ring”. Also, the big bonus of a spectacular last 15 minutes or so as the sun dipped below and/or re-penetrated the pesky cloud band and gave us a memorable finale. In the last moments, as you can see from the photos, I can only think to describe the sun as looking like a molten banana, first resting on the horizon, then pivoting into a vertical position, Titanic style, before plunging beneath the waves. At 6ft 5, and by now standing up, I also like to think I got some added value by stealing half a second on my comrades.
Going going gone. The surreal final moments before the real sunset...
I hadn’t really planned to take any photos in case it jeopardised the whole experience, but did manage a couple during the ill-fated totality and then several, as seen here, between totality and sunset which were really spectacular.
So overall, no regrets, good fun if a bit rushed. Loved the group vibe and the anticipation. A bit unlucky with totality, but that was always a risk when the sun was at 2 degrees – I don’t think the same cloud would have been any issue a bit higher. And very glad we got those otherworldly shots just before sunset. The main downside for me, apart from the moment of totality, was that the approaching darkness in the final moments was less overwhelming/spectacular than in 1999, though probably because it wasn't in the middle of the day.
I’m quite sad Fraser has not quite seen the real thing yet. But fortunately he gets a much better shot next August 2. That eclipse is much higher in the sky and from the UK should be easy to get somewhere in the far south of Spain Cádiz to Malaga region. That region has 4+ minutes totality. You can get 6 minutes on a Mediterranean cruise or in Egypt. Beach resort of Sfax in Tunisia is another option just short of the 6 minutes.
Weathertoski
Member
Did see it in 1999 though. It was mostly cloudy that day and we got very lucky with a break in the weather a few minutes before and during totality. So I guess the luck has evened out, in reverse!
Thanks WTS for the excellent blow-by-blow narrative. Wow, the sun is very low in the sky -- Tony helpfully gave the + and - of that.
I like this pic and always enjoy videos when you hear everyone clapping and screaming:
Are those the flights where they charge you extra per clothing item that you're wearing?
I like this pic and always enjoy videos when you hear everyone clapping and screaming:
The first sentence of his post?
How precise are those predictions made years in advance: both about where there'll be totality and how long it'll last?
tseeb
Well-known member
100% assuming orbits don’t change. While the moon is moving a very slight distance away from the earth every year it likely will be thousands of years before it affects eclipses.
While next August’s eclipse sounds better in length and height, I’m not sure I’m ready for another trip to Southern Spain (it was very warm, over 100 each day in Cordoba and Seville) or my first to Africa. One of my issues with going so far from home is the my Mom is 96 and going downhill so a lot falls on my sister who lives in cottage behind Mom’s.
Astro Trails mostly did a very good job this year but moving 400-600 people to/from hotels is an issue even when checkin/bus loading is fast. For next year they had more tours including some on boats on the Nile that have all booked up except for one for $4K + flight to/from home to Cairo that is at resort on Red Sea 70 miles from nearest town.
jimk
Well-known member
Happy for you eclipse chasers and best wishes for a safe trip. I remember the partial (80%) solar eclipse that passed over Wash DC in Aug 2017. It was in the early afternoon and I left my office and went outside to watch it with a few coworkers for a while. It was fun, but just not something I'm interested in enough to pursue with a high degree of effort or cost. Give me blue skies in the mountains after an overnight snow or a nice sunset at the beach with a cold beer 
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I hear the footsteps of someone who will tell you that not even 99% is the same as totality.
Cornwall 1999 was clouded out also.The first sentence of his post?
South Carolina in 2017 was very low effort and cost from DC. There was an extensive thread on SkiTalk. A few people heeded our exhortations and were glad they made the effort to get into totality. This despite the opposition of the forum admins who were content with their 83% in Reno when they had an easy drive available past Boise to eastern Oregon.
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Weathertoski
Member
For the third time, Tony, not all of Cornwall was clouded out in 1999, as we saw the entire totality!
Have you submitted documentation of this alleged "break in the clouds" to the appropriate (FTO) authorities for review? Please do so expeditiously.
Often in the bad places there’s a lucky hole in the clouds somewhere that a few people see totality. I recall that was true in Cornwall 1999 and I’m glad Fraser was one of the lucky ones. Munich was another place like that in 1999.
ChrisC
Well-known member
Once considered a portent of end times, a solar eclipse is an undeniably eccentric way to orient a vacation calendar.
Hopping around the globe in pursuit of a cosmic coincidence—those rare instances in which the moon, 400 times smaller than the sun, traverses it while 400 times closer to the earth—requires a significant amount of time, money and dedication. It means going places you may never have wanted to go, sometimes at the worst times of year, with no guarantee that the spectacle won’t be rained out. To the uninitiated, it can seem downright loony.
I am now one of those lunatics.
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/how-i-got-hooked-on-chasing-solar-eclipses-7d3ddb84?st=nm3QMb&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Hopping around the globe in pursuit of a cosmic coincidence—those rare instances in which the moon, 400 times smaller than the sun, traverses it while 400 times closer to the earth—requires a significant amount of time, money and dedication. It means going places you may never have wanted to go, sometimes at the worst times of year, with no guarantee that the spectacle won’t be rained out. To the uninitiated, it can seem downright loony.
I am now one of those lunatics.
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/how-i-got-hooked-on-chasing-solar-eclipses-7d3ddb84?st=nm3QMb&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
I won't argue with that one. It's not an accident that my first was at age 46. Both Liz and I should have done Baja in 1991, but I didn't quite "get it" in that pre-internet era and my kids were 2 and 6 years old at the time.
Liz and I are travel junkies. All of the 17 eclipse trips I have taken have included worthwhile tourism and usually at least two weeks of it.
If worst time year means a lot of rain or fog, I'm going somewhere else or taking to the air. You could make a case that next Aug. 2 in Egypt is worst time of the year at 120F, which is why we will be on a dive boat in the Red Sea. In Spain we had to deal with both heat and peak tourism season but Liz did a great job of advance booking attractions where that was necessary.
Some of the leading eclipse chasers are frequently evading that situation by chartering flights above the clouds. Some cynics might say that's like preserving a ski streak by skiing indoors. Ambience is best on land according many people and Liz is firmly in that camp. I'm more amenable to cruises than she is, but she is the one who has seen 4 out of 15 from the air vs. 3 out of 17 for me. The eclipses most requiring viewing from the air are in the Arctic or Antarctic, and I'll concede that only the most addicted of us pay up for that. 2033 over the Bering Strait is the only airborne eclipse I see in my future. However, I strongly prioritize weather prospects in choosing a land viewing site.