Eclipse 12 Aug 2026 · 20:31
Benicarló
40.416°, 0.427° · 17 m a.s.l.
1 min 38 s of night in broad daylight
Visible · score 77/100 Sun at +5° · 286° WNW
The Sun clears local terrain by 2.99° 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
☀ +15°
C2 — Totality begins
20:30
☀ +5°
Maximum
20:31
1m 38s · 286° WNW
C4 — Partial ends
21:23
☀ -4°
BENICARLÓ · 40.416° N 0.427° E
Photo: Columbusalbus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In Benicarló, day turned to night for 1 min 38 s.
At 20:31 local time, the Moon fully covered the Sun over Benicarló. For 1 min 38 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 59/ 100
Marginal visibility — depends on fine horizon
See the eclipse from Benicarló minute by minute
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About Benicarló
Benicarló is a municipality in Castellón province, Valencia Community, with 26,655 inhabitants. It sits 17 metres above sea level, on the Mediterranean coastal strip of the Levantine peninsula. Founded in 1236, its urban layout has grown alongside the coast over nearly eight centuries. The low altitude and exposure to the open seaward horizon shape both its climate and the eclipse visibility conditions.
For this eclipse
For the eclipse of 12 August 2026, Benicarló lies within the totality band. Maximum totality occurs at 20:31 local time, with the Sun at 4.4° above the horizon; the clearance relative to the actual terrain relief is 3.4°, sufficient for the solar corona to be fully visible. Since the Sun will be very low, it is wise to choose a location with clear skies and no obstacles to the west-northwest.
The weather in August
August weather in Benicarló follows the Mediterranean pattern: average temperature 25.2 °C, with typical highs of 31 °C and lows of 19.4 °C. Average monthly precipitation is meagre, at 13.2 mm, and the storm risk is classed as low. All of this points to stable observation conditions during totality. Data: AEMET, reference period 1991–2020.
Past eclipses
The last total eclipse seen from Benicarló took place on 30 August 1905, 121 years ago, with a totality duration of approximately 3 minutes and 43 seconds. Just four years before, on 11 November 1901, an annular eclipse occurred with 82.2 % obscuration. After the 2026 eclipse, the next annular eclipse will not arrive until July 2075, and the next total until November 2180.
Direction and altitude of the Sun
At the moment of maximum, 20:31 local time, the Sun is positioned at an azimuth of 286°, equivalent to the west-northwest direction—towards the interior peninsula from Benicarló's coastal strip—and at a height of 4.4° above the horizon. The position so close to the horizon means that any obstacle in that direction—buildings, trees or terrain features—could compromise the visibility of totality.
Editorial text by eclipses.app · Data: Wikidata, AEMET, NASA and JPL planetary ephemerides.
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The eclipse from Benicarló
In Benicarló, totality began at 20:30 local time and lasted 1 min 38 s, until 20:32. The eclipse maximum fell at 20:31.
In Benicarló, the Sun was 5° above the horizon, toward the WNW. Even so, a clear horizon toward the WNW helped.
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 Benicarló
Local time · Europe/Madrid| Phase | Local time | UTC | Progress | Sun alt. | Sun az. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 — Partial begins | 19:36:48 | 17:36:48 UTC | +14.6° | 277.3° | |
| C2 — Totality begins | 20:30:28 | 18:30:28 UTC | +4.7° | 285.6° | |
| Maximum | 20:31:19 | 18:31:19 UTC | +4.5° | 285.8° | |
| C3 — Totality ends | 20:32:06 | 18:32:06 UTC | +4.4° | 285.9° | |
| The Sun sets behind the terrain(terrain event, not an eclipse phase) | 20:49 | 18:49 UTC | +1.4° | 288.6° | |
| C4 — Partial endsnot visible | 21:22:34 | 19:22:34 UTC | -4.2° | 294.1° |
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
- 40.4165° N
- Longitude
- 0.4271° E
- Elevation
- 17 m
Eclipse phases
- Eclipse begins
- 19:36:48
- Totality begins
- 20:30:28
- Maximum
- 20:31:19
- Totality ends
- 20:32:06
- Eclipse ends
- 21:22:34
- Sunset (flat horizon)
- 20:59:52
Duration
- Eclipse
- 1h 45m 46s
- Totality
- 1m 38s
Values at maximum
- Obscuration
- 100%
- Sun altitude
- +4.5°
- Sun azimuth
- 285.8°
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Sun direction and altitude at maximum
It was toward WNW (285.8°)
285.8° WNW
Azimuth at maximum
4.52°
Sun altitude at maximum
1.39°
Terrain horizon
+2.99°
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 Benicarló
| Peak | Elevation | Distance | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torreta de Montsià | 763.1 m | 23.6 km | 22° NNE |
| Mola Cima | 749.4 m | 22.8 km | 21° NNE |
| Palleret del Teix | 738.8 m | 24.1 km | 22° NNE |
| la Tenda | 731.7 m | 24.6 km | 22° NNE |
| Tossal d'en Canes | 716.2 m | 20.8 km | 261° W |
| lo Tossal Pelat | 694 m | 20.6 km | 262° W |
| la Talaia Grossa | 636 m | 17.9 km | 263° W |
| lo Molló | 627 m | 19.2 km | 268° W |
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The August sky
Avg. temp.
25.2°C
Max / min
31° / 19.4°
Precipitation
13.2 mm
Storm risk
Low
Station VINARÒS, 15 km away · Period 1991-2020 · Source: AEMET
15%Historical average cloud cover
P25 — clearer days · 2%Median cloud cover · 15%P75 — cloudier days · 66%
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 Benicarló
- Last total eclipseAugust 12, 20260 years ago
- Last annular eclipseNovember 11, 1901125 years ago
- Next total eclipseNovember 17, 2180
- 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 Benicarló
Was the eclipse of August 12, 2026 visible from Benicarló?
Yes — Benicarló was inside the totality path and the horizon allowed the total phase to be fully visible.
What time was the eclipse maximum in Benicarló?
Maximum occurred at 20:31 local time (18:31 UTC) in Benicarló.
Which direction was the Sun in during the eclipse from Benicarló?
The Sun was toward the WNW (azimuth 286°), 5° above the horizon at maximum from Benicarló.
How long did totality last in Benicarló?
Totality lasted 1 min 38 s in Benicarló (C2 to C3). (corrected for the Moon's limb profile)
Was Benicarló a good place to watch the eclipse?
Benicarló 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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