12 Aug 2026 Total Solar Eclipse
What the Eclipse Will Look Like near the Maximum Point
The animation shows what the eclipse approximately looks like near the maximum point. The curvature of the Moon's path is due to the Earth's rotation.
The next 8 Total Solar Eclipses
A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon completely covers the face of the Sun. To see it, you have to be somewhere within a narrow path of totality.
Every 18 months or so—somewhere in the world—a total solar eclipse takes place. The total phase of the eclipse, where the Moon completely covers the Sun, is visible from along a narrow path of totality. Typically, this path across the globe is around 15,000 km (9000 miles) long, but only about 150 km (90 miles) wide. Observers outside the path of totality may see a partial eclipse. By convention, eclipses are named after their darkest phase—if a solar eclipse is total at any point on Earth, it is called a total solar eclipse.
The next 8 Total Solar Eclipses:
