Eclipse 12 Aug 2026 · 20:33
Alfafar
39.417°, -0.383° · 7 m a.s.l.
0 min 52 s of night in broad daylight
Visible · score 71/100 Sun at +5° · 286° WNW
The Sun clears local terrain by 3.30° 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
19:39
☀ +15°
C2 — Totality begins
20:33
☀ +5°
Maximum
20:33
52s · 286° WNW
C4 — Partial ends
21:24
☀ -4°
ALFAFAR · 39.417° N -0.383° W
Photo: Enrique Íñiguez Rodríguez (Qoan) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In Alfafar, day turned to night for 0 min 52 s.
At 20:33 local time, the Moon fully covered the Sun over Alfafar. For 0 min 52 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 63/ 100
Marginal visibility — depends on fine horizon
See the eclipse from Alfafar minute by minute
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About Alfafar
Alfafar is a municipality in the province of Valencia that belongs to the comarca of l'Horta Sud, in the Valencian Community. Located immediately south of the Valencian capital, it occupies a coastal plain barely 7 meters above sea level. With approximately 20,850 inhabitants, the municipality is part of the Valencia metropolitan area and is surrounded by flat terrain, offering broad views of the sky in multiple directions.
For this eclipse
On August 12, 2026, Alfafar will lie within the path of totality of the solar eclipse. The moment of maximum obscuration will occur at 20:32 local time, when the Sun will be only 4.5° above the horizon with an azimuth of 286°. The margin between the Sun's altitude and the topographic horizon is about 4 degrees: sufficient to observe totality, provided the west-northwest horizon is clear of buildings or trees.
The weather in August
August in Alfafar follows the coastal Mediterranean pattern: dry heat and abundant sunshine. According to AEMET climatological data for the 1991–2020 period, the average temperature for the month is 26.5 °C, with highs around 30.6 °C and nighttime lows around 22.5 °C. Average monthly accumulated rainfall does not exceed 14.7 mm, and the municipality accumulates about 288 hours of sunlight in August. The probability of clear skies reaches 69%, although there is a moderate risk of afternoon thunderstorms.
Past eclipses
The oldest recorded precedent is the total eclipse of July 18, 1860, 166 years ago, which offered a phase of totality of approximately 92 seconds from this area. Later, on October 3, 2005, an annular eclipse occurred with an obscuration of 90.4% of the Sun's disk for just under four minutes. After the eclipses of 2026, 2027, and 2028, the next significant annular event over this territory will not arrive until July 13, 2075.
Direction and altitude of the Sun
At the moment of maximum eclipse, the Sun will be 4.5° in altitude above the horizon, with an azimuth of 286°, that is, in the west-northwest direction. At such a low angle to the horizon, any obstacle—a building, a row of trees, a hill—can block the view. It is recommended to find a high point or an open space with a clear horizon facing west to guarantee the observation of totality.
Editorial text by eclipses.app · Data: Wikidata, AEMET, NASA and JPL planetary ephemerides.
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The eclipse from Alfafar
In Alfafar, totality began at 20:33 local time and lasted 0 min 52 s, until 20:34. The eclipse maximum fell at 20:33.
In Alfafar, the Sun was 5° above the horizon, toward the WNW. Even so, a clear horizon toward the WNW helped.
This area typically sees around 12% 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 Alfafar
Local time · Europe/Madrid| Phase | Local time | UTC | Progress | Sun alt. | Sun az. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 — Partial begins | 19:38:31 | 17:38:31 UTC | +14.7° | 277.3° | |
| C2 — Totality begins | 20:32:39 | 18:32:39 UTC | +4.6° | 285.5° | |
| Maximum | 20:33:05 | 18:33:05 UTC | +4.5° | 285.6° | |
| C3 — Totality ends | 20:33:31 | 18:33:31 UTC | +4.4° | 285.7° | |
| The Sun sets behind the terrain(terrain event, not an eclipse phase) | 20:52 | 18:52 UTC | +1.2° | 288.6° | |
| C4 — Partial endsnot visible | 21:24:20 | 19:24:20 UTC | -4.4° | 293.8° |
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
- 39.4167° N
- Longitude
- 0.3833° W
- Elevation
- 7 m
Eclipse phases
- Eclipse begins
- 19:38:31
- Totality begins
- 20:32:39
- Maximum
- 20:33:05
- Totality ends
- 20:33:31
- Eclipse ends
- 21:24:20
- Sunset (flat horizon)
- 21:01:12
Duration
- Eclipse
- 1h 45m 49s
- Totality
- 52s
Values at maximum
- Obscuration
- 100%
- Sun altitude
- +4.5°
- Sun azimuth
- 285.6°
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Sun direction and altitude at maximum
It was toward WNW (285.6°)
285.6° WNW
Azimuth at maximum
4.52°
Sun altitude at maximum
1.14°
Terrain horizon
+3.30°
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 Alfafar
| Peak | Elevation | Distance | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pic del Besori | 361 m | 17.8 km | 225° SW |
| Alts de València | 335 m | 17.0 km | 226° SW |
| la Rodana del PicIn the Sun's direction | 322 m | 23.8 km | 306° NW |
| Alts de la Guatleta | 308 m | 17.4 km | 233° SW |
| Lloma del Barranc dels Aspres | 306 m | 16.7 km | 228° SW |
| el Puntal | 290 m | 17.2 km | 239° WSW |
| el Cerro | 289 m | 22.1 km | 234° SW |
| la SelletaIn the Sun's direction | 283 m | 21.5 km | 307° NW |
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The August sky
Avg. temp.
26.5°C
Max / min
30.6° / 22.5°
Precipitation
14.7 mm
Storm risk
Medium
Station VALÈNCIA, 7 km away · Period 1991-2020 · Source: AEMET
12%Historical average cloud cover
P25 — clearer days · 1%Median cloud cover · 12%P75 — cloudier days · 49%
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 Alfafar
- Last total eclipseAugust 12, 20260 years ago
- Last annular eclipseOctober 3, 200521 years ago
- Next annular eclipseJuly 13, 2075
Solar eclipses computed from astronomical ephemerides for the city's coordinates.
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Frequently asked questions about the eclipse in Alfafar
Was the eclipse of August 12, 2026 visible from Alfafar?
Yes — Alfafar was inside the totality path and the horizon allowed the total phase to be fully visible.
What time was the eclipse maximum in Alfafar?
Maximum occurred at 20:33 local time (18:33 UTC) in Alfafar.
Which direction was the Sun in during the eclipse from Alfafar?
The Sun was toward the WNW (azimuth 286°), 5° above the horizon at maximum from Alfafar.
How long did totality last in Alfafar?
Totality lasted 0 min 52 s in Alfafar (C2 to C3). (corrected for the Moon's limb profile)
Was Alfafar a good place to watch the eclipse?
Alfafar 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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