Spain braces for its first total solar eclipse in over a century on 12 August, with millions of free glasses and a supercomputer corona model

On 12 August 2026, the Moon will pass directly between the Earth and the Sun, casting a shadow that will race across northern Spain from Galicia to the Balearic Islands just before sunset. It will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the country in more than a century, and the first of three such events Spain will see between 2026 and 2028. A partial eclipse will be visible across the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, much of Europe, western Africa and northern North America.

Path and timing

The path of totality will enter Spain in Galicia and exit via the Balearic Islands. In A Coruña, the partial phase begins at 19:31 local time, totality arrives at 20:28 and lasts 76 seconds, and the eclipse ends at 21:22, minutes before sunset. Bilbao will experience totality between 20:27 and 20:30, with the Sun very low on the horizon. In Madrid, the northern part of the community lies inside the path, where totality will last between 30 and 90 seconds starting at 20:32. Mallorca will see 96 seconds of darkness from 20:30, while Formentera, the last Spanish territory in the path, will have about 30 seconds of totality around 20:33. The Sun will be only two to three degrees above the horizon in the Balearics, making an unobstructed western view essential.

Eye safety warnings

Health authorities and nursing colleges have issued urgent warnings: looking directly at the Sun without certified protection can cause solar retinopathy, a burn to the retina that is painless and often irreversible. The Junta de Andalucía stressed that the danger is greater during an eclipse because the dimmed visible light suppresses the natural aversion to glare while ultraviolet and infrared radiation remain intense.

This injury can cause temporary or permanent vision loss and, sometimes, produces no immediate pain or discomfort, so the person may not be aware of the damage until several hours later.

Elena Salobrar, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, explained that UV light generates free radicals that destroy retinal neurons, while infrared light essentially cooks the tissue. Javier Armentia, astrophysicist and former director of the Pamplona Planetarium, noted that the damage is cumulative: even brief repeated glances add up. Only glasses meeting the ISO 12312-2 standard are safe, and they must be worn before looking at the Sun and kept on until looking away. Conventional sunglasses, smoked glass, X-rays, CDs, and mobile phone cameras offer no protection. Children should be supervised at all times, and the glasses are not toys, the nursing council reminded.

Free glasses distribution

To help the public observe safely, the ONCE foundation and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities will distribute 2 million certified glasses through the campaign "Una vista única. Cuídala." ONCE will provide 1.7 million pairs and the Ministry 300,000. In Catalonia, the regional government will hand out an additional 150,000 glasses at 23 observation points across 18 municipalities. Pick-up locations in Catalonia include the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, the Museu de Matemàtiques de Catalunya in Cornellà de Llobregat, the Parc Astronòmic del Montsec in Àger, and ONCE lottery sales points. Distribution begins on 3 August.

Scientific modelling of the corona

The Ministry of Science has used the La Palma supercomputer to predict the structure of the solar corona during totality. The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and Predictive Science Inc. fed the model with magnetic field data from NASA's SDO, ESA's Solar Orbiter, and the GONG network, whose Teide Observatory station is managed by the IAC. Because the whole Sun cannot be observed at once, the model stitches together measurements taken strip by strip over a full solar rotation and solves the magnetohydrodynamic equations. The resulting interactive map lets users preview the corona from any point along the path. Beyond the visual forecast, the work targets the coronal heating problem: why the corona reaches millions of degrees while the solar surface is only about 6,000 degrees. Comparing the prediction with real eclipse images will help astrophysicists test their theories.