Eclipse 12 Aug 2026 · 20:33
Paterna
39.503°, -0.441° · 60 m a.s.l.
0 min 59 s of night in broad daylight
Visible · score 73/100 Sun at +5° · 286° WNW
The Sun clears local terrain by 3.47° 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
19:38
☀ +15°
C2 — Totality begins
20:32
☀ +5°
Maximum
20:33
59s · 286° WNW
C4 — Partial ends
21:24
☀ -4°
PATERNA · 39.503° N -0.441° W
Photo: Enrique Íñiguez Rodríguez (Qoan) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In Paterna, day turned to night for 0 min 59 s.
At 20:33 local time, the Moon fully covered the Sun over Paterna. For 0 min 59 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 64/ 100
Marginal visibility — depends on fine horizon
See the eclipse from Paterna minute by minute
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About Paterna
Paterna is a municipality in the province of Valencia, integrated into the metropolitan area of the Valencian capital, with a population of around 64,000 inhabitants. It lies just 60 metres above sea level, in the flat plain of the Turia corridor, northwest of the city of Valencia. Its geographic position in the heart of the Valencian Community makes it a point with easy access to the main approaches and viewpoints of the region.
For this eclipse
On 12 August 2026, Paterna lies within the path of totality of the solar eclipse. Maximum occurs at 20:32 (local time), when the Moon completely covers the solar disk for about 105 seconds. At that moment, the Sun will be only 4.5° above the horizon, meaning that any obstruction to the west-northwest — buildings, trees, or terrain — could compromise the view. The margin relative to the computed topographic horizon is 4.2°, so it is advisable to find a clear vantage point in that direction.
The weather in August
August in Paterna is warm and dry: average temperature hovers around 26 °C, with highs regularly exceeding 31 °C and lows around 21 °C. AEMET climate data (1991–2020 period) reflects a 72 % probability of clear skies and an average of more than 300 hours of sunshine per month. Mean precipitation is just 11.6 mm, although there is a moderate risk of afternoon thunderstorms, more frequent towards the end of the month. Overall, conditions are favourable for observation.
Past eclipses
The last total eclipse visible from Paterna took place on 18 July 1860, 166 years ago, with a totality lasting just over a minute and three-quarters. More recently, on 3 October 2005, an annular eclipse covered 90.4 % of the solar disk for slightly less than four minutes. After the 2026 eclipse, the next such event to reach this area will not occur until 13 July 2075, in the form of an annular eclipse.
Direction and altitude of the Sun
At the moment of eclipse maximum, at 20:32, the Sun is at 286° azimuth, an orientation corresponding to west-northwest. Its altitude above the horizon is merely 4.5°, equivalent to just over a fist-width at arm's length. This low position, nearly at horizon level, gives the event a visually singular character, but demands a completely 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 Paterna
In Paterna, totality began at 20:32 local time and lasted 0 min 59 s, until 20:33. The eclipse maximum fell at 20:33.
In Paterna, the Sun was 5° above the horizon, toward the WNW. Even so, a clear horizon toward the WNW helped.
This area typically sees around 14% 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 Paterna
Local time · Europe/Madrid| Phase | Local time | UTC | Progress | Sun alt. | Sun az. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 — Partial begins | 19:38:22 | 17:38:22 UTC | +14.8° | 277.2° | |
| C2 — Totality begins | 20:32:28 | 18:32:28 UTC | +4.7° | 285.5° | |
| Maximum | 20:32:58 | 18:32:58 UTC | +4.6° | 285.5° | |
| C3 — Totality ends | 20:33:26 | 18:33:26 UTC | +4.5° | 285.6° | |
| The Sun sets behind the terrain(terrain event, not an eclipse phase) | 20:55 | 18:55 UTC | +0.8° | 289.0° | |
| C4 — Partial endsnot visible | 21:24:14 | 19:24:14 UTC | -4.3° | 293.7° |
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
- 39.5026° N
- Longitude
- 0.4408° W
- Elevation
- 60 m
Eclipse phases
- Eclipse begins
- 19:38:22
- Totality begins
- 20:32:28
- Maximum
- 20:32:58
- Totality ends
- 20:33:26
- Eclipse ends
- 21:24:14
- Sunset (flat horizon)
- 21:01:34
Duration
- Eclipse
- 1h 45m 52s
- Totality
- 59s
Values at maximum
- Obscuration
- 100%
- Sun altitude
- +4.6°
- Sun azimuth
- 285.5°
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Sun direction and altitude at maximum
It was toward WNW (285.5°)
285.5° WNW
Azimuth at maximum
4.61°
Sun altitude at maximum
1.04°
Terrain horizon
+3.47°
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 Paterna
| Peak | Elevation | Distance | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penya Roja | 831 m | 24.3 km | 355° N |
| Alto del Sapo | 827 m | 23.7 km | 356° N |
| Penyes Altes | 819 m | 24.5 km | 353° N |
| Alto del Hombre Muerto | 816 m | 23.9 km | 355° N |
| els Rebalsadors | 801 m | 21.8 km | 358° N |
| Cerro de la Mata | 753 m | 22.6 km | 353° N |
| Alt de la Nevera | 740 m | 23.9 km | 359° N |
| el Cierro | 737 m | 22.5 km | 3° N |
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The August sky
Avg. temp.
26.3°C
Max / min
31.2° / 21.3°
Precipitation
11.6 mm
Storm risk
Medium
Station VALENCIA AEROPUERTO, 4 km away · Period 1991-2020 · Source: AEMET
14%Historical average cloud cover
P25 — clearer days · 1%Median cloud cover · 14%P75 — cloudier days · 53%
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 Paterna
- 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 Paterna
Was the eclipse of August 12, 2026 visible from Paterna?
Yes — Paterna was inside the totality path and the horizon allowed the total phase to be fully visible.
What time was the eclipse maximum in Paterna?
Maximum occurred at 20:32 local time (18:32 UTC) in Paterna.
Which direction was the Sun in during the eclipse from Paterna?
The Sun was toward the WNW (azimuth 286°), 5° above the horizon at maximum from Paterna.
How long did totality last in Paterna?
Totality lasted 0 min 59 s in Paterna (C2 to C3). (corrected for the Moon's limb profile)
Was Paterna a good place to watch the eclipse?
Paterna 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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