The total solar eclipse of 12 August
Greatest eclipse falls at 17:45 UTC on 12 August 2026, with the Sun at twenty degrees of Leo. The path of totality crosses Greenland and Iceland before making landfall in northern Spain, which makes it the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Europe since August 1999.
Because it happens late in the day along the Spanish track, the Sun is low in the sky at totality. That is unusual and it is worth knowing about: a low Sun makes the horizon effects dramatic and makes a clear western view essential. Anyone travelling for it should be reading a proper eclipse map rather than this page, which gives the astronomy and the astrology rather than the logistics.
The annular eclipse of 17 February
The year opens with an annular solar eclipse at 12:11 UTC on 17 February, with the Sun at twenty eight degrees of Aquarius and obscuration around ninety three per cent. The ring is visible only from Antarctica, so almost nobody will see it as anything but a partial eclipse from the southern tip of South America.
An annular eclipse happens when the Moon is far enough away in its orbit that its disc cannot quite cover the Sun. Nothing about the alignment differs from a total eclipse; only the distance does.
The two lunar eclipses
A total lunar eclipse peaks at 11:33 UTC on 3 March with the Moon at twelve degrees of Virgo. Totality is visible from the Pacific, eastern Asia, Australia and the Americas. Europe and Africa miss it, since the Moon has set there by the time it happens.
The second is a deep partial on 28 August at 04:12 UTC, with the Moon in Pisces and about ninety seven per cent of the disc inside the umbra. A partial that deep looks very nearly total to the eye, with a bright sliver remaining along one edge.
Both fall roughly a fortnight from their paired solar eclipse, which is the ordinary spacing: the Sun stays near a node for about a month, so each season produces at least one of each.
What the astrology makes of them
The February and March pair fall across Aquarius and Virgo, and the August pair across Leo and Pisces. The convention is that an eclipse matters to a chart when its degree contacts a placement closely, within a degree or two, and that it is unremarkable otherwise.
The 12 August solar eclipse at twenty degrees of Leo is the one worth checking, because that is a heavily populated stretch of the zodiac for anyone with Leo placements. The transit calculator will tell you whether it touches anything of yours, which is a more useful question than whether Leo is your sign.
Nothing on this page predicts an event. It gives the times, the degrees and the visibility, all of which are checkable, and leaves interpretation clearly marked as interpretation.
Questions people ask about this
How many eclipses are there in 2026?
Four. Two solar, an annular in February and a total in August, and two lunar, a total in March and a deep partial in August. Four is the usual number for a calendar year.
Where can I see the 2026 total solar eclipse?
The path of totality runs across Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain on 12 August. Much of Europe sees a large partial eclipse. The Sun is low in the sky along the Spanish track, so an unobstructed western horizon matters.
Is the August 2026 eclipse the first in Europe since 1999?
The first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Europe since 11 August 1999, yes. There have been annular and partial eclipses in between, but not a total one over the European mainland.
What signs do the 2026 eclipses fall in?
Aquarius and Virgo in February and March, then Leo and Pisces in August. The exact degrees are in the table above, and the degree is what decides whether an eclipse touches your chart.
Why is the March lunar eclipse not visible from Europe?
Because the Moon is below the horizon there when it happens. A lunar eclipse is visible from wherever it is night at that moment, which for a peak at 11:33 UTC means the Pacific side of the world.
Do eclipses in 2026 affect me personally?
In the astrological framework, only if a degree lands close to something in your own chart. The sky is the same for everyone, so anything specific comes from that contact rather than from the eclipse itself.