After back-to-back blockbuster total solar eclipses that drew millions of skywatchers across North America in 2017 and 2024, the cosmic spotlight has shifted to Europe for this week’s highly anticipated celestial event.
On Wednesday, a total solar eclipse will carve a path across parts of the Northern Hemisphere, bringing the rare phenomenon of midday darkness to regions that have not experienced totality in more than two decades. Totality will first touch down near the North Pole before tracking southeast across Greenland, Iceland, mainland Spain, and a small section of northern Portugal. At maximum duration, the total phase of the eclipse will last just a couple of minutes at any given location — far shorter than the nearly four-and-a-half-minute maximum totality that crossed North America in April 2024. Even so, this event marks the first time a total solar eclipse has been visible from continental Europe since 1999, with the next longer totality set to cross Spain, North Africa and the Middle East in August 2026.
While the full total phase is restricted to the European path of the eclipse, skywatchers in far northern parts of the United States and Canada will still have the opportunity to view a partial eclipse, when the moon will appear to take a visible “bite” out of the sun’s surface. NASA has released detailed viewing information for major population centers across North America, outlining local start, peak, and end times, along with the expected percentage of the sun covered by the moon.
Among the cities included in NASA’s data, St. Johns in Newfoundland and Labrador will see the most significant partial eclipse, with 53% of the sun obscured at peak, which is scheduled for 3:35 p.m. local time. Anchorage, Alaska, follows with an expected 28% coverage at 8:21 a.m. local time, while Bangor, Maine, will see 24% coverage peaking at 1:53 p.m. Montreal, Quebec, will observe an 18% partial eclipse at 1:45 p.m., with other centers seeing smaller coverage percentages: New York City at 9% (peak 1:54 p.m.), Toronto at 8% (peak 1:40 p.m.), Philadelphia at 7% (peak 1:53 p.m.), Winnipeg at 5% (peak 12:02 p.m.), Washington, D.C. at 4% (peak 1:53 p.m.), and Detroit at 3% (peak 1:36 p.m.).
North American skywatchers waiting for another coast-to-coast total eclipse will need to be patient: the next total solar eclipse stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast of the contiguous United States will not occur until 2045. NASA reminds all skywatchers that even during a partial eclipse, looking directly at the sun without certified solar viewing glasses can cause permanent eye damage, so proper safety precautions are required for anyone planning to observe the event.
This reporting is produced by the Associated Press Health and Science Department, which receives educational funding support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP retains full editorial control over all content.