Eclipse 12 Aug 2026 · 20:32
Alcobendas
40.547°, -3.642° · 696 m a.s.l.
0 min 15 s of night in broad daylight
Visible · score 76/100 Sun at +7° · 283° WNW
The Sun clears local terrain by 6.01° 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
☀ +18°
C2 — Totality begins
20:32
☀ +7°
Maximum
20:32
15s · 283° WNW
C4 — Partial ends
21:24
☀ -2°
ALCOBENDAS · 40.547° N -3.642° W
Photo: Carlos Delgado · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In Alcobendas, day turned to night for 0 min 15 s.
At 20:32 local time, the Moon fully covered the Sun over Alcobendas. For 0 min 15 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 Alcobendas minute by minute
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About Alcobendas
Alcobendas is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, located north of the capital in Madrid province, at an altitude of 696 meters. With over 116,000 inhabitants, it forms part of the urban corridor connecting Madrid to Barajas International Airport. Its territory spreads across the Castilian plateau, with a landscape of plains and gentle undulations, and shares with Madrid a continental climate of dry, hot summers.
For this eclipse
On August 12, 2026, Alcobendas lies within the path of totality of the solar eclipse. The Sun reaches its maximum coverage at 20:31 local time, at 7.3° above the horizon, with a topographic clearance of 6.2°: the celestial body will be sufficiently above the horizon for totality (contact C3) to be visible unobstructed from flat vantage points. Given its position on the plateau, it is advisable to choose a location with an open western horizon.
The weather in August
The AEMET meteorological station nearest Alcobendas does not have complete records for August, so temperature data or probability of clear skies are not available. However, it can be noted that the risk of thunderstorms in August is low, suggesting that convective disturbances are less frequent here than in other areas of the plateau. The general climate of the Community of Madrid points to summers with abundant sunshine hours.
Past eclipses
The last total eclipse seen from Alcobendas occurred on July 8, 1842, 184 years ago, with a totality phase of just under two minutes. More recently, on October 3, 2005, the city experienced an annular eclipse with a coverage of 90.3% and an annular phase lasting just over four minutes. After the eclipses of 2026 and 2028, the next annular eclipse to reach this area will arrive on December 8, 2113.
Direction and altitude of the Sun
At the moment of maximum eclipse, the Sun will be at 7.3° altitude above the horizon, in a direction of 283° azimuth, that is, nearly toward the west-northwest. At that altitude, the solar disk will be low but visible from open areas. It is recommended to position yourself in a location with a clear western horizon free of buildings or trees, since small artificial elevations can interfere with observation of the totality phase.
Editorial text by eclipses.app · Data: Wikidata, AEMET, NASA and JPL planetary ephemerides.
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The eclipse from Alcobendas
In Alcobendas, totality began at 20:32 local time and lasted 0 min 15 s, until 20:32. The eclipse maximum fell at 20:32.
In Alcobendas, 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 15% 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 Alcobendas
Local time · Europe/Madrid| Phase | Local time | UTC | Progress | Sun alt. | Sun az. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 — Partial begins | 19:36:33 | 17:36:33 UTC | +17.7° | 274.6° | |
| C2 — Totality begins | 20:32:05 | 18:32:05 UTC | +7.4° | 283.3° | |
| Maximum | 20:32:10 | 18:32:10 UTC | +7.3° | 283.3° | |
| C3 — Totality ends | 20:32:21 | 18:32:21 UTC | +7.3° | 283.4° | |
| The Sun sets behind the terrain(terrain event, not an eclipse phase) | 21:07 | 19:07 UTC | +1.2° | 288.9° | |
| C4 — Partial endsnot visible | 21:24:18 | 19:24:18 UTC | -1.6° | 291.7° |
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
- 40.5475° N
- Longitude
- 3.6420° W
- Elevation
- 696 m
Eclipse phases
- Eclipse begins
- 19:36:33
- Totality begins
- 20:32:05
- Maximum
- 20:32:10
- Totality ends
- 20:32:21
- Eclipse ends
- 21:24:18
- Sunset (flat horizon)
- 21:16:11
Duration
- Eclipse
- 1h 47m 45s
- Totality
- 15s
Values at maximum
- Obscuration
- 100%
- Sun altitude
- +7.3°
- Sun azimuth
- 283.3°
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Sun direction and altitude at maximum
It was toward WNW (283.3°)
283.3° WNW
Azimuth at maximum
7.33°
Sun altitude at maximum
1.28°
Terrain horizon
+6.01°
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 Alcobendas
| Peak | Elevation | Distance | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerro de San Pedro | 1425 m | 21.0 km | 344° NNW |
| Pico de MatalasgrajasIn the Sun's direction | 1207.8 m | 24.1 km | 299° WNW |
| Cerro SaludaIn the Sun's direction | 1200 m | 23.2 km | 300° WNW |
| Cerro SaludaIn the Sun's direction | 1199 m | 23.3 km | 300° WNW |
| Cerro CalvacheIn the Sun's direction | 1188 m | 23.7 km | 300° WNW |
| Cerro de NavalospinosIn the Sun's direction | 1171 m | 21.9 km | 300° WNW |
| Cerro de la Haya del PajarIn the Sun's direction | 1169 m | 22.8 km | 300° WNW |
| Cerro del Cancho | 1117 m | 20.3 km | 352° N |
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The August sky
15%Historical average cloud cover
P25 — clearer days · 0%Median cloud cover · 15%P75 — cloudier days · 47%
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 Alcobendas
- Last total eclipseAugust 12, 20260 years ago
- Last annular eclipseOctober 3, 200521 years ago
- Next annular eclipseDecember 8, 2113
Solar eclipses computed from astronomical ephemerides for the city's coordinates.
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Frequently asked questions about the eclipse in Alcobendas
Was the eclipse of August 12, 2026 visible from Alcobendas?
Yes — Alcobendas was inside the totality path and the horizon allowed the total phase to be fully visible.
What time was the eclipse maximum in Alcobendas?
Maximum occurred at 20:32 local time (18:32 UTC) in Alcobendas.
Which direction was the Sun in during the eclipse from Alcobendas?
The Sun was toward the WNW (azimuth 283°), 7° above the horizon at maximum from Alcobendas.
How long did totality last in Alcobendas?
Totality lasted 0 min 15 s in Alcobendas (C2 to C3). (corrected for the Moon's limb profile)
Was Alcobendas a good place to watch the eclipse?
Alcobendas 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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