Eclipse 12 Aug 2026 · 20:30
Calatayud
41.354°, -1.643° · 542 m a.s.l.
1 min 40 s of night in broad daylight
Visible · score 76/100 Sun at +6° · 284° WNW
The Sun clears local terrain by 2.82° 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
19:35
☀ +17°
C2 — Totality begins
20:30
☀ +7°
Maximum
20:30
1m 40s · 284° WNW
C4 — Partial ends
21:22
☀ -2°
CALATAYUD · 41.354° N -1.643° W
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In Calatayud, day turned to night for 1 min 40 s.
At 20:30 local time, the Moon fully covered the Sun over Calatayud. For 1 min 40 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 25/ 100
Marginal visibility — depends on fine horizon
See the eclipse from Calatayud minute by minute
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About Calatayud
Calatayud is the second most populated city in Zaragoza province, with just over 20,000 inhabitants, and sits at 542 meters altitude at the confluence of the Jalón and Jiloca rivers, in the heart of inland Aragon. Its position in the Jalón basin gives it a landscape of valleys and limestone hills that define the local horizon profile. Administratively, it belongs to the autonomous community of Aragon, about 85 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital, Zaragoza.
For this eclipse
The eclipse of August 12, 2026 reaches Calatayud as a total eclipse, with maximum obscuration expected at 20:30 local time. At that moment, the Sun will be just 6.3 degrees above the horizon, in a direction of 284 degrees azimuth, that is, nearly west-northwest. The safety margin above the local topographic horizon is 3.7 degrees, which allows viewing totality, although any elevated obstacle in that direction could compromise the view.
The weather in August
August in Calatayud is a warm and relatively dry month: the average temperature is around 23 °C, with highs that can exceed 31 °C during the day and lows around 15–16 °C at night. The average precipitation for the month barely exceeds 14 millimeters, and the risk of storms is low according to AEMET statistics for the period 1991–2020. The continental climate of the Jalón valley favors clear nights following hot summer days.
Past eclipses
The last total eclipse that crossed Calatayud was on August 30, 1905, 121 years ago, with totality lasting almost four minutes. Before that, in November 1901, the city experienced an annular eclipse. After 2026, there will be no new total eclipse to completely darken Calatayud's sky until November 17, 2180: a wait of more than a century and a half that underscores the rarity of the phenomenon that is approaching.
Direction and altitude of the Sun
At the moment of maximum eclipse, at 20:30 local time, the Sun will have already traveled nearly its entire daily arc and will be 6.3 degrees high above the horizon, looking toward the west-northwest (azimuth of 284 degrees). For practical purposes, it is advisable to orient yourself with your back to the north: the Sun will be barely elevated above the horizon in that direction. An observation point without obstacles to the west-northwest will maximize the chances of seeing the solar corona during totality.
Editorial text by eclipses.app · Data: Wikidata, AEMET, NASA and JPL planetary ephemerides.
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The eclipse from Calatayud
In Calatayud, totality began at 20:30 local time and lasted 1 min 40 s, until 20:31. The eclipse maximum fell at 20:30.
In Calatayud, the Sun was 6° above the horizon, toward the WNW. Even so, a clear horizon toward the WNW helped.
This area typically sees around 20% 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 Calatayud
Local time · Europe/Madrid| Phase | Local time | UTC | Progress | Sun alt. | Sun az. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 — Partial begins | 19:35:12 | 17:35:12 UTC | +16.5° | 275.4° | |
| C2 — Totality begins | 20:29:33 | 18:29:33 UTC | +6.5° | 284.1° | |
| Maximum | 20:30:25 | 18:30:25 UTC | +6.4° | 284.2° | |
| C3 — Totality ends | 20:31:13 | 18:31:13 UTC | +6.2° | 284.4° | |
| The Sun sets behind the terrain(terrain event, not an eclipse phase) | 20:50 | 18:50 UTC | +2.9° | 287.4° | |
| C4 — Partial endsnot visible | 21:22:15 | 19:22:15 UTC | -2.3° | 292.7° |
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
- 41.3535° N
- Longitude
- 1.6432° W
- Elevation
- 542 m
Eclipse phases
- Eclipse begins
- 19:35:12
- Totality begins
- 20:29:33
- Maximum
- 20:30:25
- Totality ends
- 20:31:13
- Eclipse ends
- 21:22:15
- Sunset (flat horizon)
- 21:09:50
Duration
- Eclipse
- 1h 47m 3s
- Totality
- 1m 40s
Values at maximum
- Obscuration
- 100%
- Sun altitude
- +6.4°
- Sun azimuth
- 284.2°
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Sun direction and altitude at maximum
It was toward WNW (284.2°)
284.2° WNW
Azimuth at maximum
6.40°
Sun altitude at maximum
3.43°
Terrain horizon
+2.82°
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 Calatayud
| Peak | Elevation | Distance | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alto de la Cabrera | 1428 m | 17.9 km | 351° N |
| Pico del Rayo | 1427 m | 13.5 km | 86° E |
| Pico del Rayo | 1427 m | 13.5 km | 86° E |
| Alto de los Tres Mojones | 1421 m | 20.3 km | 341° NNW |
| Virgen de la Sierra | 1418 m | 22.2 km | 338° NNW |
| Santa Brígida | 1411 m | 12.4 km | 80° E |
| Peña del Café | 1411 m | 16.9 km | 354° N |
| Pico Cafe | 1404 m | 17.6 km | 353° N |
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The August sky
Avg. temp.
23.4°C
Max / min
31.1° / 15.6°
Precipitation
14.6 mm
Storm risk
Low
Station CALATAYUD, 3 km away · Period 1991-2020 · Source: AEMET
20%Historical average cloud cover
P25 — clearer days · 1%Median cloud cover · 20%P75 — cloudier days · 69%
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 Calatayud
- Last total eclipseAugust 12, 20260 years ago
- Last annular eclipseNovember 11, 1901125 years ago
- Next total eclipseNovember 17, 2180
- 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 Calatayud
Was the eclipse of August 12, 2026 visible from Calatayud?
Yes — Calatayud was inside the totality path and the horizon allowed the total phase to be fully visible.
What time was the eclipse maximum in Calatayud?
Maximum occurred at 20:30 local time (18:30 UTC) in Calatayud.
Which direction was the Sun in during the eclipse from Calatayud?
The Sun was toward the WNW (azimuth 284°), 6° above the horizon at maximum from Calatayud.
How long did totality last in Calatayud?
Totality lasted 1 min 40 s in Calatayud (C2 to C3). (corrected for the Moon's limb profile)
Was Calatayud a good place to watch the eclipse?
Calatayud 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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