NASA to track August 12 total solar eclipse across Europe

The Aug. 12 total solar eclipse will sweep across Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain and a small corner of Portugal, with NASA SVS’s eclipse map placing Russia in the shadow path. NASA will begin live coverage at 1:15 pm ET. It is the first total solar eclipse for mainland Europe since 1999, and about 15 million people are in the path of totality.

For viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the show will be partial rather than total. The Royal Observatory Greenwich puts Sun coverage there at about 90% to 96%, including in places such as Sheffield. Direct viewing is safe only during totality and otherwise requires eclipse glasses or another approved viewing method.

NASA is pairing the eclipse with a science campaign aimed at the Sun’s atmosphere. NASA SVS released its “Chasing Eclipses with NASA Pilots” feature on Monday, July 27, 2026. Some of the clearest views will come from about 50,000 feet aboard NASA’s WB-57 jet, which flies above much of the clouds, dust and water vapor that can blur the view from the ground. Balloons will also be launched, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is ready to explore the eclipse from Earth to the Sun’s atmosphere.

Nearly one billion people could potentially see at least a partial eclipse, Al Jazeera puts the figure at nearly one billion. European Space Agency materials also cover how to model the eclipse and watch it live from home.

The April 8, 2024 North American total solar eclipse put more than 31 million people in the path of totality, NASA Earthdata put, and the shadow crossed Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo and Montreal. The month also includes a major meteor shower, Venus at its brightest and a partial lunar eclipse later in the month.