Eclipse 12 Aug 2026 · 20:30
Palencia
42.010°, -4.524° · 739 m a.s.l.
1 min 38 s of night in broad daylight
Visible · score 85/100 Sun at +9° · 282° WNW
The Sun clears local terrain by 7.04° at C3.
Full totality was visible here. C3 — the end of totality — stayed above the horizon.
Total eclipse · 100% obscuration
C1 — Partial begins
19:34
☀ +19°
C2 — Totality begins
20:29
☀ +9°
Maximum
20:30
1m 38s · 282° WNW
C4 — Partial ends
21:23
☀ -0°
PALENCIA · 42.010° N -4.524° W
Photo: Alejandro Polanco · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In Palencia, day turned to night for 1 min 38 s.
At 20:30 local time, the Moon fully covered the Sun over Palencia. 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 36/ 100
Eclipse visible
See the eclipse from Palencia minute by minute
Compare locations, save your plan and enable cloud alerts.
About Palencia
Palencia is the capital of its namesake province, located in the heart of Castilla y León, on the banks of the Carrión River. It sits on the cereal plains of the northern meseta, at 739 metres above sea level, with around 78,600 inhabitants. Its central position on the northern submeseta gives it a wide, clear horizon towards the west, which is relevant for astronomical observation.
For this eclipse
On 12 August 2026, Palencia lies within the path of totality: the eclipse is total and the verdict is favourable. Third contact (C3)—the moment the Moon begins to leave the Sun's disc—occurs at 20:29 local time. With the Sun at 8.6° above the horizon and a margin of 7.8° above the surrounding terrain, the totality phase should be visible without obstruction from locations with clear sightlines towards the west-northwest.
The weather in August
August in Palencia is characterised by low storm risk according to AEMET climate data from 1991–2020, which is favourable for eclipse observation. The continental climate of the Castilian meseta brings dry, sunny summers with scarce summer rainfall. August afternoons typically offer stable skies, especially in the hours before sunset, the time window in which this phenomenon will occur.
Past eclipses
The last total eclipse visible from Palencia occurred on 30 August 1905, 121 years ago, with a totality duration of around three and a quarter minutes. Before that, an annular eclipse crossed the area on 1 April 1764, 262 years ago. After the eclipses of 2026 and 2028, the next significant annular eclipse for this city is forecast for 27 February 2082.
Direction and altitude of the Sun
At the moment of maximum eclipse, at 20:29 on 12 August 2026, the Sun will be 8.6° above the horizon, oriented towards the west-northwest, with an azimuth of 282°. This position, close to the horizon but with sufficient clearance above local terrain, requires finding an observation site with unobstructed visibility in that direction to guarantee a complete view of totality.
Editorial text by eclipses.app · Data: Wikidata, AEMET, NASA and JPL planetary ephemerides.
01
The eclipse from Palencia
In Palencia, totality began at 20:29 local time and lasted 1 min 38 s, until 20:31. The eclipse maximum fell at 20:30.
In Palencia, the Sun was 9° above the horizon, toward the WNW. With that much margin above the horizon, any spot with open sky worked.
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.
02
Take this data to your site
Embed this eclipse on your site
Generate the code to embed the eclipse widget on your hotel, town hall or blog website.
<iframe src="https://eclipses.app/embed/widget?lat=42.0095&lon=-4.5241&size=standard&theme=dark&locale=en" width="320" height="340" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" title="Eclipse 2026"></iframe>03
Don't miss it
04
Eclipse schedule in Palencia
Local time · Europe/Madrid| Phase | Local time | UTC | Progress | Sun alt. | Sun az. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 — Partial begins | 19:33:55 | 17:33:55 UTC | +19.0° | 273.2° | |
| C2 — Totality begins | 20:29:09 | 18:29:09 UTC | +8.8° | 282.1° | |
| Maximum | 20:30:00 | 18:30:00 UTC | +8.7° | 282.2° | |
| C3 — Totality ends | 20:30:48 | 18:30:48 UTC | +8.5° | 282.4° | |
| The Sun sets behind the terrain(terrain event, not an eclipse phase) | 21:15 | 19:15 UTC | +0.9° | 289.6° | |
| C4 — Partial endsnot visible | 21:22:34 | 19:22:34 UTC | -0.2° | 290.8° |
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).
05
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
- 42.0095° N
- Longitude
- 4.5241° W
- Elevation
- 739 m
Eclipse phases
- Eclipse begins
- 19:33:55
- Totality begins
- 20:29:09
- Maximum
- 20:30:00
- Totality ends
- 20:30:48
- Eclipse ends
- 21:22:34
- Sunset (flat horizon)
- 21:22:37
Duration
- Eclipse
- 1h 48m 40s
- Totality
- 1m 38s
Values at maximum
- Obscuration
- 100%
- Sun altitude
- +8.7°
- Sun azimuth
- 282.2°
06
Sun direction and altitude at maximum
It was toward WNW (282.2°)
282.2° WNW
Azimuth at maximum
8.68°
Sun altitude at maximum
1.49°
Terrain horizon
+7.04°
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 Palencia
| Peak | Elevation | Distance | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monte Rey | 898 m | 15.2 km | 50° NE |
| Monte Reinoso | 889 m | 13.9 km | 113° ESE |
| Pico de Cuesta Vega | 888 m | 10.1 km | 43° NE |
| Valdebecerra | 883 m | 11.9 km | 141° SE |
| Cincopicos | 872 m | 3.0 km | 124° ESE |
| La Junquera | 872 m | 12.7 km | 110° ESE |
| El Castillo | 871 m | 7.2 km | 109° ESE |
| Albardieles | 867 m | 12.3 km | 126° SE |
07
The August sky
15%Historical average cloud cover
P25 — clearer days · 0%Median cloud cover · 15%P75 — cloudier days · 62%
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 Palencia
- Last total eclipseAugust 12, 20260 years ago
- Last annular eclipseApril 1, 1764262 years ago
- Next annular eclipseFebruary 27, 2082
Solar eclipses computed from astronomical ephemerides for the city's coordinates.
08
Frequently asked questions about the eclipse in Palencia
Was the eclipse of August 12, 2026 visible from Palencia?
Yes — Palencia was inside the totality path and the horizon allowed the total phase to be fully visible.
What time was the eclipse maximum in Palencia?
Maximum occurred at 20:30 local time (18:30 UTC) in Palencia.
Which direction was the Sun in during the eclipse from Palencia?
The Sun was toward the WNW (azimuth 282°), 9° above the horizon at maximum from Palencia.
How long did totality last in Palencia?
Totality lasted 1 min 38 s in Palencia (C2 to C3). (corrected for the Moon's limb profile)
Was Palencia a good place to watch the eclipse?
Palencia 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.
09