Eclipse 12 Aug 2026 · 20:29
Ponferrada
42.547°, -6.596° · 519 m a.s.l.
1 min 24 s of night in broad daylight
Visible · score 94/100 Sun at +10° · 281° W
The Sun clears local terrain by 8.62° at C3.
Full totality was visible here. C3 — the end of totality — stayed above the horizon.
Total eclipse · 100% obscuration
C1 — Partial begins
19:33
☀ +21°
C2 — Totality begins
20:29
☀ +11°
Maximum
20:29
1m 24s · 281° W
C4 — Partial ends
21:23
☀ +1°
PONFERRADA · 42.547° N -6.596° W
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Bolado~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
In Ponferrada, day turned to night for 1 min 24 s.
At 20:29 local time, the Moon fully covered the Sun over Ponferrada. For 1 min 24 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 22/ 100
Marginal visibility — depends on fine horizon
See the eclipse from Ponferrada minute by minute
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About Ponferrada
Ponferrada is the capital of the Bierzo region, a comarca located in the far western part of León province, in Castilla y León. Home to nearly 69,000 inhabitants at an altitude of 519 metres, the city sits at the confluence of the Sil and Boeza rivers, surrounded by mountains that shape a landscape of sheltered valleys. Its position in the northwest of the Castilian plateau gives it a transitional climate between Atlantic and continental influences.
For this eclipse
On 12 August 2026, Ponferrada will lie within the path of totality of the solar eclipse. Totality will occur with the Sun at just 10.3° above the horizon, in the west-northwest direction (azimuth 281°). That low angle is a significant constraint: the margin above the topographic horizon is 9.4°, so it is important to choose a location with no obstructions in that direction. Maximum occurs at 20:29 local time.
The weather in August
August in Ponferrada is dry and sunny. The average temperature is around 22 °C, with typical highs of 29–30 °C and cool lows around 14 °C. The month records more than 322 hours of sunshine and only about 21 mm of rainfall, translating to a 78 % chance of clear skies. The risk of thunderstorms is moderate, concentrated in the central hours of the day; afternoons—when the eclipse will occur—are typically stable. Data: AEMET (1991–2020).
Past eclipses
The last total eclipse visible from Ponferrada occurred on 30 August 1905, 121 years ago, with totality lasting just over one minute. More recently, on 3 October 2005, an annular eclipse covered 90 % of the solar disk. After the eclipses of 2026, 2027 and 2028, it will not be until 27 February 2082 that an annular eclipse crosses this latitude again.
Direction and altitude of the Sun
At maximum totality, the Sun will be nearly at the west-northwest horizon, with an azimuth of 281° and an altitude of just 10.3°. That low position requires a completely clear line of sight in that direction: even the gentlest ridge or a row of trees could block the view. Plan ahead by facing west-northwest and verifying the horizon from your chosen location to make the most of totality.
Editorial text by eclipses.app · Data: Wikidata, AEMET, NASA and JPL planetary ephemerides.
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The eclipse from Ponferrada
In Ponferrada, totality began at 20:29 local time and lasted 1 min 24 s, until 20:30. The eclipse maximum fell at 20:29.
In Ponferrada, the Sun was 10° above the horizon, toward the West. With that much margin above the horizon, any spot with open sky worked.
This area typically sees around 10% 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 Ponferrada
Local time · Europe/Madrid| Phase | Local time | UTC | Progress | Sun alt. | Sun az. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 — Partial begins | 19:32:44 | 17:32:44 UTC | +20.7° | 271.4° | |
| C2 — Totality begins | 20:28:45 | 18:28:45 UTC | +10.5° | 280.6° | |
| Maximum | 20:29:28 | 18:29:28 UTC | +10.4° | 280.7° | |
| C3 — Totality ends | 20:30:10 | 18:30:10 UTC | +10.2° | 280.8° | |
| C4 — Partial ends | 21:22:36 | 19:22:36 UTC | +1.2° | 289.4° |
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).
Location
- Latitude
- 42.5466° N
- Longitude
- 6.5962° W
- Elevation
- 519 m
Eclipse phases
- Eclipse begins
- 19:32:44
- Totality begins
- 20:28:45
- Maximum
- 20:29:28
- Totality ends
- 20:30:10
- Eclipse ends
- 21:22:36
- Sunset (flat horizon)
- 21:32:04
Duration
- Eclipse
- 1h 49m 52s
- Totality
- 1m 24s
Values at maximum
- Obscuration
- 100%
- Sun altitude
- +10.4°
- Sun azimuth
- 280.7°
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Sun direction and altitude at maximum
It was toward West (280.7°)
280.7° W
Azimuth at maximum
10.37°
Sun altitude at maximum
1.62°
Terrain horizon
+8.62°
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 Ponferrada
| Peak | Elevation | Distance | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabeza de Yegua | 2142 m | 16.6 km | 165° SSE |
| Alto de las Berdiaínas | 2116 m | 16.5 km | 169° SSE |
| Pico Tuerto | 2051 m | 15.0 km | 172° S |
| El Morredero | 2031 m | 17.1 km | 162° SSE |
| Cruz Mayor | 2024 m | 16.8 km | 178° S |
| Meruelas | 2020.6 m | 19.2 km | 155° SSE |
| Cerro Coballos | 2012 m | 22.5 km | 151° SSE |
| Pico de las Yeguas | 1893 m | 23.2 km | 208° SSW |
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The August sky
Avg. temp.
21.7°C
Max / min
29.5° / 14°
Precipitation
21.3 mm
Storm risk
Medium
Station PONFERRADA, 2 km away · Period 1991-2020 · Source: AEMET
10%Historical average cloud cover
P25 — clearer days · 0%Median cloud cover · 10%P75 — cloudier days · 50%
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 Ponferrada
- Last total eclipseAugust 12, 20260 years ago
- Last annular eclipseOctober 3, 200521 years ago
- 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 Ponferrada
Was the eclipse of August 12, 2026 visible from Ponferrada?
Yes — Ponferrada was inside the totality path and the horizon allowed the total phase to be fully visible.
What time was the eclipse maximum in Ponferrada?
Maximum occurred at 20:29 local time (18:29 UTC) in Ponferrada.
Which direction was the Sun in during the eclipse from Ponferrada?
The Sun was toward the West (azimuth 281°), 10° above the horizon at maximum from Ponferrada.
How long did totality last in Ponferrada?
Totality lasted 1 min 24 s in Ponferrada (C2 to C3). (corrected for the Moon's limb profile)
Was Ponferrada a good place to watch the eclipse?
Yes, Ponferrada was an excellent choice (score 94/100): favorable geometry, clear horizon, and good August climatology.
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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