Eclipse 12 Aug 2026 · 20:28
Castro-Urdiales
43.383°, -3.220° · 18 m a.s.l.
0 min 25 s of night in broad daylight
Visible · score 59/100 Sun at +8° · 282° WNW
The Sun clears local terrain by 2.28° at C3.
Full totality was visible here. C3 — the end of totality — stayed above the horizon.
Total eclipse · 100% obscuration
C1 — Partial begins
19:32
☀ +19°
C2 — Totality begins
20:27
☀ +9°
Maximum
20:28
25s · 282° WNW
C4 — Partial ends
21:20
☀ -0°
CASTRO-URDIALES · 43.383° N -3.220° W
Photo: kallerna · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In Castro-Urdiales, day turned to night for 0 min 25 s.
At 20:28 local time, the Moon fully covered the Sun over Castro-Urdiales. For 0 min 25 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 23/ 100
Blocked by terrain
See the eclipse from Castro-Urdiales minute by minute
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About Castro-Urdiales
Castro-Urdiales is a coastal municipality in Cantabria that stretches along the shores of the Bay of Biscay at barely 18 metres above sea level. With just under 32,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most populated centres on the eastern Cantabrian coast. Its natural bay has sustained a fishing and port tradition for centuries, and the city preserves a historic urban layout where the medieval castle of Santa Ana coexists with the lighthouse that stands alongside it.
For this eclipse
On 12 August 2026, Castro-Urdiales will lie within the path of totality of the solar eclipse. The moment of maximum phase (C3) will occur at 20:27 local time, with the Sun positioned just 8.5° above the horizon in the west-northwest direction (azimuth 282°). The clearance above the topographic horizon is 3.8°, so it is advisable to choose a location with a clear horizon towards the west to avoid missing the moments of totality.
The weather in August
AEMET climate data for the 1991–2020 period shows that Castro-Urdiales faces a low risk of thunderstorms during August. This is favourable for eclipse observation, as the probability of storm activity on those dates is low. As a coastal city with Atlantic influence, cloud cover can change more rapidly than inland; monitoring the forecast in the days before 12 August will be essential.
Past eclipses
The last total eclipse visible from Castro-Urdiales occurred on 18 July 1860, 166 years ago, with a totality lasting 2 minutes and 54 seconds. Before that event, on 1 April 1764, an annular eclipse covered 86.9% of the solar disc. After the 2026 eclipse, the next annular will arrive on 27 February 2082, and the next total will not occur until 17 November 2180.
Direction and altitude of the Sun
At the moment of eclipse maximum on 12 August 2026 at 20:27, the Sun will be 8.5° above the geographic horizon, oriented towards the west-northwest at an azimuth of 282°. At such a low altitude, having a clear view towards the west is decisive: any obstruction in that quadrant—buildings, trees or terrain features—could block your field of view during the critical minutes of totality.
Editorial text by eclipses.app · Data: Wikidata, AEMET, NASA and JPL planetary ephemerides.
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The eclipse from Castro-Urdiales
In Castro-Urdiales, totality began at 20:27 local time and lasted 0 min 25 s, until 20:28. The eclipse maximum fell at 20:28.
In Castro-Urdiales, the Sun was 8° above the horizon, toward the WNW. Even so, a clear horizon toward the WNW helped.
This area typically sees around 48% 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 Castro-Urdiales
Local time · Europe/Madrid| Phase | Local time | UTC | Progress | Sun alt. | Sun az. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 — Partial begins | 19:31:35 | 17:31:35 UTC | +18.5° | 273.2° | |
| C2 — Totality begins | 20:27:17 | 18:27:17 UTC | +8.5° | 282.4° | |
| Maximum | 20:27:30 | 18:27:30 UTC | +8.5° | 282.5° | |
| C3 — Totality ends | 20:27:43 | 18:27:43 UTC | +8.4° | 282.5° | |
| The Sun sets behind the terrain(terrain event, not an eclipse phase) | 20:44 | 18:44 UTC | +5.7° | 285.1° | |
| C4 — Partial endsnot visible | 21:20:01 | 19:20:01 UTC | -0.1° | 291.3° |
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
- 43.3828° N
- Longitude
- 3.2204° W
- Elevation
- 18 m
Eclipse phases
- Eclipse begins
- 19:31:35
- Totality begins
- 20:27:17
- Maximum
- 20:27:30
- Totality ends
- 20:27:43
- Eclipse ends
- 21:20:01
- Sunset (flat horizon)
- 21:20:31
Duration
- Eclipse
- 1h 48m 26s
- Totality
- 25s
Values at maximum
- Obscuration
- 100%
- Sun altitude
- +8.5°
- Sun azimuth
- 282.5°
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Sun direction and altitude at maximum
It was toward WNW (282.5°)
282.5° WNW
Azimuth at maximum
8.49°
Sun altitude at maximum
6.16°
Terrain horizon
+2.28°
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 Castro-Urdiales
| Peak | Elevation | Distance | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burgueño | 1044.2 m | 21.9 km | 192° SSW |
| Ilso de las Estacas | 1037 m | 24.9 km | 199° SSW |
| Maza de Pando | 1018 m | 23.9 km | 197° SSW |
| Terreros | 911 m | 21.1 km | 188° S |
| La Comba | 911 m | 23.7 km | 246° WSW |
| La Cabaña Martin | 906 m | 23.1 km | 196° SSW |
| Eretza | 887 m | 21.6 km | 141° SE |
| Kolitza | 883 m | 20.4 km | 187° S |
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The August sky
48%Historical average cloud cover
P25 — clearer days · 16%Median cloud cover · 48%P75 — cloudier days · 89%
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 Castro-Urdiales
- Last total eclipseAugust 12, 20260 years ago
- Last annular eclipseApril 1, 1764262 years ago
- Next total eclipseNovember 17, 2180
- Next annular eclipseFebruary 27, 2082
Solar eclipses computed from astronomical ephemerides for the city's coordinates.
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Frequently asked questions about the eclipse in Castro-Urdiales
Was the eclipse of August 12, 2026 visible from Castro-Urdiales?
Yes — Castro-Urdiales was inside the totality path and the horizon allowed the total phase to be fully visible.
What time was the eclipse maximum in Castro-Urdiales?
Maximum occurred at 20:27 local time (18:27 UTC) in Castro-Urdiales.
Which direction was the Sun in during the eclipse from Castro-Urdiales?
The Sun was toward the WNW (azimuth 282°), 8° above the horizon at maximum from Castro-Urdiales.
How long did totality last in Castro-Urdiales?
Totality lasted 0 min 25 s in Castro-Urdiales (C2 to C3). (corrected for the Moon's limb profile)
Was Castro-Urdiales a good place to watch the eclipse?
Castro-Urdiales 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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