Eclipse 12 Aug 2026 · 20:32
Alcalá de Henares
40.482°, -3.360° · 597 m a.s.l.
0 min 29 s of night in broad daylight
Visible · score 80/100 Sun at +7° · 284° WNW
The Sun clears local terrain by 6.40° at C3.
Full totality was visible here, but the Sun set before the partial phase ended — an unusually epic finale.
Total eclipse · 100% obscuration
C1 — Partial begins
19:37
☀ +17°
C2 — Totality begins
20:32
☀ +7°
Maximum
20:32
29s · 284° WNW
C4 — Partial ends
21:24
☀ -2°
ALCALÁ DE HENARES · 40.482° N -3.360° W
Photo: santiago lopez-pastor · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In Alcalá de Henares, day turned to night for 0 min 29 s.
At 20:32 local time, the Moon fully covered the Sun over Alcalá de Henares. For 0 min 29 s, the sky darkened as if it were night, leaving the Sun as a ring of light around a black disc.
The other two eclipses from here
Eclipse 2 Aug 2027
Score 50/ 100
Eclipse visible
The Sun will be 37-41° high, so terrain rules out no city at all: of the 560 assessed, 522 tie on the same score. What decides is being inside the path.
Eclipse 26 Jan 2028
Score 42/ 100
Eclipse visible
See the eclipse from Alcalá de Henares minute by minute
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About Alcalá de Henares
Alcalá de Henares is a municipality of 193,751 inhabitants located in the Community of Madrid, on the banks of the Henares River and at an elevation of about 597 metres above sea level. Situated east of Spain's capital, it lies in the alluvial plain that stretches towards the Meseta plateau. The city shares its province with Madrid and forms part of its eastern metropolitan area, standing as one of the region's most populous centres.
For this eclipse
On 12 August 2026, Alcalá de Henares will experience the total solar eclipse within the path of totality. Maximum eclipse occurs at 20:31 local time, with the Sun just 7.1° above the topographic horizon and a positive margin of 6.7°, confirming visibility of contact C3. The Sun's low altitude demands a completely clear western horizon, with no obstacles such as buildings or trees.
The weather in August
August in Alcalá de Henares is hot and dry: average temperature hovers around 25.2 °C, with highs typically reaching 33.3 °C and lows around 17.1 °C. Average monthly precipitation is merely 8.9 mm and skies remain clear on 83 % of days, with an average of 344 hours of sunlight recorded. The risk of convective storms is moderate; most frequent storms occur in the second half of the month. Data: AEMET (1991–2020).
Past eclipses
The last total eclipse visible from Alcalá de Henares occurred on 8 July 1842, 184 years ago, with a duration of approximately 2 minutes. More recently, on 3 October 2005, an annular eclipse could be seen, covering 90.3 % of the solar disc for just over 4 minutes. Following the 2026–2028 eclipses, the next significant annular event over this area will not arrive until the year 2377.
Direction and altitude of the Sun
At maximum eclipse, the Sun will be 7.1° above the horizon at an azimuth of 284°, pointing towards the west-northwest. In practice, this means looking almost due west, slightly tilted towards the north. At such a low angle, any element on the horizon—hills, buildings, or vegetation—can interfere with the view, so it is recommended to seek an elevated vantage point with a clear line of sight in that direction.
Editorial text by eclipses.app · Data: Wikidata, AEMET, NASA and JPL planetary ephemerides.
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The eclipse from Alcalá de Henares
In Alcalá de Henares, totality began at 20:32 local time and lasted 0 min 29 s, until 20:33. The eclipse maximum fell at 20:32.
In Alcalá de Henares, the Sun was 7° above the horizon, toward the WNW. With that much margin above the horizon, any spot with open sky worked.
This area typically sees around 9% median cloud cover at that hour, based on ten years of historical data — not a forecast for this specific eclipse.
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Eclipse schedule in Alcalá de Henares
Local time · Europe/Madrid| Phase | Local time | UTC | Progress | Sun alt. | Sun az. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 — Partial begins | 19:36:40 | 17:36:40 UTC | +17.5° | 274.8° | |
| C2 — Totality begins | 20:32:02 | 18:32:02 UTC | +7.2° | 283.5° | |
| Maximum | 20:32:13 | 18:32:13 UTC | +7.1° | 283.5° | |
| C3 — Totality ends | 20:32:31 | 18:32:31 UTC | +7.0° | 283.6° | |
| The Sun sets behind the terrain(terrain event, not an eclipse phase) | 21:09 | 19:09 UTC | +0.7° | 289.4° | |
| C4 — Partial endsnot visible | 21:24:16 | 19:24:16 UTC | -1.8° | 291.9° |
Phases marked with ⛰️ were not seen: the Sun was already hidden behind the real terrain at that moment.
C2/C3 times and duration corrected for the lunar limb (the Moon's real edge profile).
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Eclipse phases
Times in CEST local time
Oriented as seen with the naked eye, zenith up (official ephemerides usually draw it with celestial north up, rotated with respect to this).
Phases shown in red aren't observable: they happen while the Sun is below the horizon.
Location
- Latitude
- 40.4821° N
- Longitude
- 3.3600° W
- Elevation
- 597 m
Eclipse phases
- Eclipse begins
- 19:36:40
- Totality begins
- 20:32:02
- Maximum
- 20:32:13
- Totality ends
- 20:32:31
- Eclipse ends
- 21:24:16
- Sunset (flat horizon)
- 21:14:57
Duration
- Eclipse
- 1h 47m 36s
- Totality
- 29s
Values at maximum
- Obscuration
- 100%
- Sun altitude
- +7.1°
- Sun azimuth
- 283.5°
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Sun direction and altitude at maximum
It was toward WNW (283.5°)
283.5° WNW
Azimuth at maximum
7.11°
Sun altitude at maximum
0.64°
Terrain horizon
+6.40°
Sun−terrain margin
What the contact points (C1-C4) mean
A solar eclipse is described by four key moments, the contact points between the discs of the Sun and the Moon:
- C1First contact: the Moon touches the edge of the Sun and the partial eclipse begins.
- C2Second contact: the Moon fully covers the Sun and totality begins.
- C3Third contact: the Sun reappears and totality ends.
- C4Fourth contact: the Moon leaves the Sun's disc and the eclipse ends.
Where the eclipse is only partial, the Moon never fully covers the Sun: only C1 and C4 occur, with no totality in between.
Peaks near Alcalá de Henares
| Peak | Elevation | Distance | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peña Parda | 845 m | 24.8 km | 118° ESE |
| Cerro de la Virgen | 837 m | 3.9 km | 81° E |
| Ecce-Homo | 836 m | 3.1 km | 87° E |
| Cerro del Castillo | 749 m | 16.1 km | 309° NW |
| La Tortuga | 731 m | 2.7 km | 74° ENE |
| Cerro Almodóvar | 726 m | 22.8 km | 242° WSW |
| Cerro del TordoIn the Sun's direction | 716 m | 12.9 km | 293° WNW |
| Cerro Pajero | 702 m | 17.9 km | 312° NW |
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The August sky
Avg. temp.
25.2°C
Max / min
33.3° / 17.1°
Precipitation
8.9 mm
Storm risk
Medium
Station TORREJÓN DE ARDOZ, 7 km away · Period 1991-2020 · Source: AEMET
9%Historical average cloud cover
P25 — clearer days · 0%Median cloud cover · 9%P75 — cloudier days · 53%
10-year average over 70 samples: the 3 days before and after 12 August, at the same eclipse hour · Source: ERA5 (ECMWF)
Cloud forecast
Full cloud-cover forecast for eclipse day, including the hour-by-hour outlook toward the sun. Available with PRO.
See plansOther eclipses seen from Alcalá de Henares
- Last total eclipseAugust 12, 20260 years ago
- Last annular eclipseOctober 3, 200521 years ago
- Next annular eclipseOctober 3, 2377
Solar eclipses computed from astronomical ephemerides for the city's coordinates.
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Frequently asked questions about the eclipse in Alcalá de Henares
Was the eclipse of August 12, 2026 visible from Alcalá de Henares?
Yes — Alcalá de Henares was inside the totality path and the horizon allowed the total phase to be fully visible.
What time was the eclipse maximum in Alcalá de Henares?
Maximum occurred at 20:32 local time (18:32 UTC) in Alcalá de Henares.
Which direction was the Sun in during the eclipse from Alcalá de Henares?
The Sun was toward the WNW (azimuth 284°), 7° above the horizon at maximum from Alcalá de Henares.
How long did totality last in Alcalá de Henares?
Totality lasted 0 min 29 s in Alcalá de Henares (C2 to C3). (corrected for the Moon's limb profile)
Was Alcalá de Henares a good place to watch the eclipse?
Alcalá de Henares saw totality (C2-C3) very close to the western horizon. The partial end (C4) fell below the horizon: a clear western view was needed for an epic experience.
Do I need special glasses to watch the eclipse?
Yes, you need ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses during every partial phase. Regular sunglasses do NOT protect. Glasses can only be removed during the totality phase (when the Sun is fully covered); never during annular or partial eclipses. Pages flagged "visible" assume a clear horizon, not a viewing recommendation.
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