The moon completely covers the sun during a total solar eclipse as seen from Arija, Spain. [Borja Suarez/Reuters]By News AgenciesPublished On 12 Aug 202612 Aug 2026Millions of people across Europe have experienced their first total solar eclipse in 27 years.
Starting at 15:34 GMT, the brightness of the daylight hours was gradually interrupted as the moon began to block the sun, eventually turning day into sudden night for about two minutes along the path of totality.
That path – where the moon orbits in front of the sun and blocks its entire surface facing Earth – crossed northern Russia, Greenland and Iceland before sweeping across Spain and a small part of Portugal, bringing almost total darkness to about 15 million people.
A partial eclipse was visible across much of Western Europe, parts of Northwest Africa, most of Canada and part of the northern United States.
