Topline
A total solar eclipse will sweep across the Arctic and parts of Europe on Wednesday, Aug. 12, while observers in Europe and North America will see a partial eclipse. However, the event will not be visible from across the U.S. A partial solar eclipse will be visible from 26 states, with the deepest U.S. views in Alaska and Maine. Here’s exactly what you’ll see from where you are, and when and how to watch it safely.
Key Facts
A partial solar eclipse will be visible from 26 U.S. states on Wednesday, Aug. 12, as a total solar eclipse is seen from a narrow path of totality across eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain.
The moon’s dark central shadow — called the umbra — will miss North America. Its wider outer shadow, however, will sweep across northern parts of the continent, creating a partial solar eclipse from Alaska through the northern states and into New England.
Alaska will have the deepest U.S. eclipse, with about 37% of the sun covered in Fairbanks at 8:27 a.m. AKDT. Maine will receive the strongest view in the contiguous U.S., reaching about 28% partial eclipse at around 1:50 p.m. EDT. Eclipse glasses will be required throughout.
Wednesday’s eclipse will be modest by comparison with the total solar eclipses that crossed the U.S. in 2017 and 2024. Even so, millions of people will be able to take part in an event whose central path will briefly turn day to twilight across parts of Europe and the Arctic.
The following total solar eclipse will occur on Aug. 2, 2027, across Spain, North Africa and the Middle East. Luxor, Egypt, will experience 6 minutes 20 seconds of totality — the longest possible until 2114.
What time is the solar eclipse on Wednesday?
The precise timing depends on location, but Alaska will see the eclipse in the morning, while viewers in the Northeast will see it in the early afternoon. Anchorage will reach maximum eclipse at about 8:21 a.m. AKDT, when almost 28% of the sun will be covered. Fairbanks will see the deepest eclipse anywhere in the U.S., with about 37% of the sun hidden by the moon. In the northeast, Maine will have the best view, reaching approximately 28% partial eclipse at 1:50 p.m. EDT.
Here are some other sample times for major cities:
- Boston, Massachusetts: 16% partial eclipse at 1:53 p.m. EDT
- Rochester, New York: 9% partial eclipse at 1:43 p.m. EDT
- Albany, New York: 13% partial eclipse at 1:50 p.m. EDT
- New York City, New York: 10% partial eclipse at 1:54 p.m. EDT
- Trenton, New Jersey: 8% partial eclipse at 1:53 p.m. EDT
- Hartford, Connecticut: 13% partial eclipse at 1:54 p.m. EDT
- Providence, Rhode Island: 15% partial eclipse at 1:55 p.m. EDT
- Concord, New Hampshire: 17% partial eclipse at 1:52 p.m. EDT
- Augusta, Maine: 21% partial eclipse at 1:53 p.m. EDT
- Montpelier, Vermont: 17% partial eclipse at 1:49 p.m. EDT
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: 6% partial eclipse at 1:50 p.m. EDT
Observers farther from Alaska, the Canadian border and New England will see a smaller eclipse or none at all. That makes a location-specific eclipse calculator essential because start, maximum and end times can vary between cities within the same state.
You can find out exactly what to expect — in the form of a schedule — by entering your exact location on this eclipse calculator from Timeanddate.com.
Where will the eclipse be total?
Totality will be confined to a path about 180 miles wide crossing eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain. The longest totality, lasting 2 minutes and 18 seconds, will occur offshore near Iceland. It will be the first total solar eclipse visible from Europe since 2015 and the first from mainland Europe since 1999.
Spain will see totality between approximately 8:26 and 8:33 p.m. local time, with the eclipsed sun low above the western horizon. The event will be followed a few hours later by the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, creating an unusually rich night of skywatching.
Where is the next total solar eclipse in the U.S.?
The next opportunity to witness totality in the U.S. will be March 30, 2033. On that day, the moon’s umbral shadow will carve a broad path across the Arctic, stretching from far eastern Russia into northwestern Alaska. At its maximum, the path of totality will span approximately 485 miles (781 kilometers), where totality will last for up to 2 minutes and 37 seconds. Prime viewing locations will include Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Kotzebue, Nome and Prudhoe Bay, though it’s one of the least accessible U.S. eclipses of the 21st century — though its timing near the March equinox, peak season for the aurora borealis, will likely attract many eclipse chasers.
