Eclipse 12 Aug 2026 · 20:33
Cuenca
40.067°, -2.133° · 941 m a.s.l.
0 min 55 s of night in broad daylight
Visible · score 81/100 Sun at +6° · 284° WNW
The Sun clears local terrain by 5.25° 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
☀ +16°
C2 — Totality begins
20:32
☀ +6°
Maximum
20:33
55s · 284° WNW
C4 — Partial ends
21:24
☀ -3°
CUENCA · 40.067° N -2.133° W
Photo: Tomás Fano · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In Cuenca, day turned to night for 0 min 55 s.
At 20:33 local time, the Moon fully covered the Sun over Cuenca. For 0 min 55 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 58/ 100
Marginal visibility — depends on fine horizon
See the eclipse from Cuenca minute by minute
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About Cuenca
Cuenca is the capital of its namesake province in Castilla-La Mancha, situated at 941 metres above sea level where the Júcar and Huécar rivers converge. Home to just under 55,000 people, it occupies a distinctive location within the Cuenca highlands where the rugged karst landscape shapes the terrain. Its inland peninsular position gives it a pronounced continental climate marked by warm summers and cool nights.
For this eclipse
On 12 August 2026, Cuenca lies within the path of totality of the solar eclipse. At 20:32 local time, the Sun reaches third contact with a clear horizon: 6° of altitude and a 5.6° margin above the surrounding topography. Although the Sun will be low in the evening sky, the favourable geometry ensures that totality will be visible from the city without obstruction under normal conditions.
The weather in August
August in Cuenca records average temperatures of 23.9 °C, with highs that can exceed 31 °C and cool nights around 16 °C. The probability of clear skies stands at around 78 %, supported by some 322 hours of sunshine during the month. However, the risk of convective storms is high—a typical feature inland at this altitude—and they can develop rapidly in the afternoons. It is worth monitoring the forecast in the days leading up to the eclipse. (Data: AEMET 1991–2020)
Past eclipses
The last total eclipse visible from Cuenca occurred on 8 July 1842, 184 years ago, with a totality duration of approximately 93 seconds. More recently, on 3 October 2005, an annular eclipse covered 90.3 % of the solar disc. After the eclipses of 2026, 2027 and 2028, one must wait until 13 July 2075 to see another annular eclipse from this city.
Direction and altitude of the Sun
At the moment of maximum eclipse, the Sun will be 6° above the horizon towards the west-northwest, with an azimuth of 284°. The Sun will descend towards the western horizon during totality, so it is advisable to position yourself at an elevated point with an unobstructed view towards the west. The low solar altitude adds visual drama to the corona, though it also requires an unobstructed line of sight in that direction.
Editorial text by eclipses.app · Data: Wikidata, AEMET, NASA and JPL planetary ephemerides.
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The eclipse from Cuenca
In Cuenca, totality began at 20:32 local time and lasted 0 min 55 s, until 20:33. The eclipse maximum fell at 20:33.
In Cuenca, the Sun was 6° above the horizon, toward the WNW. With that much margin above the horizon, any spot with open sky worked.
This area typically sees around 4% 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 Cuenca
Local time · Europe/Madrid| Phase | Local time | UTC | Progress | Sun alt. | Sun az. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 — Partial begins | 19:37:25 | 17:37:25 UTC | +16.3° | 275.9° | |
| C2 — Totality begins | 20:32:06 | 18:32:06 UTC | +6.1° | 284.3° | |
| Maximum | 20:32:34 | 18:32:34 UTC | +6.0° | 284.4° | |
| C3 — Totality ends | 20:33:01 | 18:33:01 UTC | +6.0° | 284.4° | |
| The Sun sets behind the terrain(terrain event, not an eclipse phase) | 21:04 | 19:04 UTC | +0.6° | 289.3° | |
| C4 — Partial endsnot visible | 21:24:17 | 19:24:17 UTC | -2.9° | 292.6° |
Phases marked with ⛰️ were not seen: the Sun was already hidden behind the real terrain at that moment.
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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
- 40.0667° N
- Longitude
- 2.1333° W
- Elevation
- 941 m
Eclipse phases
- Eclipse begins
- 19:37:25
- Totality begins
- 20:32:06
- Maximum
- 20:32:34
- Totality ends
- 20:33:01
- Eclipse ends
- 21:24:17
- Sunset (flat horizon)
- 21:09:09
Duration
- Eclipse
- 1h 46m 52s
- Totality
- 55s
Values at maximum
- Obscuration
- 100%
- Sun altitude
- +6.0°
- Sun azimuth
- 284.4°
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Sun direction and altitude at maximum
It was toward WNW (284.4°)
284.4° WNW
Azimuth at maximum
6.05°
Sun altitude at maximum
0.71°
Terrain horizon
+5.25°
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 Cuenca
| Peak | Elevation | Distance | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabeza Gorda | 1468 m | 23.5 km | 56° NE |
| Cabeza Modorra | 1444 m | 21.9 km | 51° NE |
| Cabeza Ranchal | 1441 m | 21.2 km | 28° NNE |
| Monteagudillo | 1441 m | 24.3 km | 54° NE |
| Picón de Royo Frío | 1439 m | 23.8 km | 29° NNE |
| Puntàl de Peña Rubia | 1434 m | 22.6 km | 40° NE |
| Alto de la Hoya Riverte | 1431 m | 19.9 km | 59° ENE |
| Losares | 1389 m | 17.8 km | 340° NNW |
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The August sky
Avg. temp.
23.9°C
Max / min
31.5° / 16.4°
Precipitation
21.2 mm
Storm risk
High
Station CUENCA, 0 km away · Period 1991-2020 · Source: AEMET
4%Historical average cloud cover
P25 — clearer days · 0%Median cloud cover · 4%P75 — cloudier days · 54%
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 Cuenca
- 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 Cuenca
Was the eclipse of August 12, 2026 visible from Cuenca?
Yes — Cuenca was inside the totality path and the horizon allowed the total phase to be fully visible.
What time was the eclipse maximum in Cuenca?
Maximum occurred at 20:32 local time (18:32 UTC) in Cuenca.
Which direction was the Sun in during the eclipse from Cuenca?
The Sun was toward the WNW (azimuth 284°), 6° above the horizon at maximum from Cuenca.
How long did totality last in Cuenca?
Totality lasted 0 min 55 s in Cuenca (C2 to C3).
Was Cuenca a good place to watch the eclipse?
Cuenca 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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