August Solar Eclipse Prep!

On August 12, 2026, Iceland and Spain will experience a total eclipse of the Sun. I have been asked by a few people for advice and suggestions about glasses and locations for the eclipse, so here are a few things.

Chasing The Black Sun

If you know me, you'll already know how excited I am about it, and I am already ready to fly to Spain to see it.

Where am I going to see it from? I can't tell you. No, I am not gatekeeping a location; I just want to have the best chance of seeing it, and that means moving until we have a solid weather forecast. You can witness what I put my husband through on Eclipse day in our video diary of our Mexico trip in 2024.

Now, if you are already booked in Spain or Iceland, I suggest looking at locations that have historically been clear in weather for August. Not a guarantee, but a good basis.

The path of totality is pretty wide in Spain so there are many options. If you have not sorted out a trip, the path passes right outside Madrid's airport! It might not be the most scenic, but hey, the spectacle is in the sky!

Here is a map with its path.

For those in the UK and Italy, where most of my readers might be from, you won't get totality, but you'll be getting a very good partial eclipse. In my hometown of Anzio, on the seaside of Rome, the Sun will be 65 percent eclipsed. In London, it will be 92 percent.

Wear protection, please!

Whether you are in Spain, Iceland, Ireland, UK, or Italy during the partial phases of the eclipse, you'll need to wear eclipse glasses. Please be smarter than these people.

Seriously, after every solar eclipse there is a spike in searches like "my eyes hurt" so please be smart!

So my advice is to get some eclipse glasses and only look at the partial eclipse with them. If you are in the path of totality, keep them on until totality, at which point it will be safe to view with the naked eye, until the Sun re-emerges.

If you are not in the path of totality, you keep them on every time you look at the Sun. Don't try to get a quick glance without them.

There are plenty of brands that are good; just make sure they have the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard. The American Astronomical Society has a good way to make sure they are safe with a list of brands. No, your standard sunglasses are not suitable for this.

If you need a quick pair, I used to buy them from Celestron but now I have a hard plastic pair.

I think this is all for now, but if you have more questions, let me know! I will answer directly and add more info here.