08/11/2026
Tomorrow's, Wednesday, August 12th's, Celestial Double-header!
The First Celestial Treat!
Much of the Northeastern United States, Canada and Europe will experience a partial solar eclipse this Wednesday, August 12th. The beginning times of each eclipse phase depends on your location. For those of us living in Southeastern Connecticut, the approximate eclipse times are shown in the table below (plus or minus a couple of minutes.) An image of a partial solar eclipse phase is displayed in the first image following this post.
> 1:05 PM EDT, 8/12: the partial eclipse phase begins. This is when we first enter the Moon's penumbral shadow and you first see the Moon's dark silhouette taking a bite out of the solar surface. (The penumbra is the lighter outer portion of a shadow. It is the portion where only some of the light from the light source, in this case, the Sun, is blocked by the obscuring object, in this case, the Moon.) Look almost due south and at an angle of about 63 degrees above your horizon to find the Sun at the start of the partial eclipse.
> 1:56 PM EDT, 8/12: Maximum eclipse for our area. At this time, about 13% of the Sun's face will be blocked by the Moon.
> 2:44 PM Eastern, 8/12: The partial eclipse ends as the trailing edge of the Moon leaves the Sun and we exit the Moon's penumbral shadow. The Sun will be located in the Southwest at an altitude of 54 degrees when this solar spectacle ends.
If you live outside of Southeastern CT, use the interactive eclipse map from TimeandDate.com to determine if you will see any of this eclipse, and if you are living in the Moon's shadow path, how much of the Sun will be obscured and the timings of each phase:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2026-august-12?n=%407316471
The path of totality is narrow. Unfortunately, those in the Northeast portion of the US, NE Canada and much of Europe will only get to see a partial solar eclipse. Lucky folks living in portions of the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, Russia and Spain will be in the path of the Moon's dark, inner shadow - the umbra - as it races across the Earth's surface. They will get to see the Sun completely eclipsed this Wednesday, weather permitting, and enjoy totality.
The path of the Moon's shadow traversing the Earth's surface is shown below, courtesy of Fred Espenak's web page, Mr. Eclipse (all the details can be found here:
https://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2026Aug12Tprime.html).
Animated Moon shadow map can be viewed here: https://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEanim400/2026_08_12_TSE_400px.gif
How is a solar eclipse produced?
A solar eclipse can only occur when the Earth, Moon and Sun are precisely aligned. The Moon must be in its new phase for a solar eclipse. This means that the Moon sits in between the Sun and the Earth so that the Moon's shadow touches the Earth, obscuring the Sun for those lucky enough to be in the shadow path as seen in the 2nd image/figure below.
Where to watch the total solar eclipse of August 2026 on-line:
> TimeandDate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV8UZ245n70&t=56s
> NASA: https://plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-video/2026-total-solar-eclipse/
> European Space Agency: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Total_solar_eclipse_how_to_watch_live_from_home
There are many other eclipse streams, so fear not. If you want to stream this eclipse you should have no trouble finding several different websites broadcasting from different countries along the eclipse path, so clouds in one observing location won't mean you won't get to see the eclipse.
Solar Eclipse Viewing Safety Tips:
Never look at the Sun directly with your naked eye or through a camera, binocular or any other device without using the appropriate solar filters designed to protect your eyes!!! Doing this will damage your eyes - don't chance it. Use approved, undamaged solar eclipse glasses, a slab of #14 ac-welders glass, or make a pin-hole camera to project the Sun's image onto a surface. This NASA site provides a convenient resource on what types of solar glasses, solar binoculars and filters are safe to use when viewing the Sun. They also provide a quick and easy guide for making pin-hole projection "cameras". Please check it out and enjoy the solar show safely. NASA Eclipse Safety: https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/safety/
The Second Celestial Treat!
If a partial solar eclipse weren't enough, this very same evening of August 12th into the pre-dawn hours of the following morning, August 13th, is the night of peak activity for the Perseid meteor shower. This shower of heavenly debris extends from roughly July 17th through August 29th, with the peak number of meteors expected on the 12th -13th. Be aware that the number of meteors you might see in the pre-dawn hours during this time fails off dramatically on either side of the peak date.
One may expect to see between 30 to 50 Perseids when viewing under optimum conditions. Optimum conditions require viewing from a dark, not light-polluted location, a clear and moonless night sky with the shower radiant at its greatest altitude above your horizon. This year, the Moon is in its new phase as I mentioned above when discussing the solar eclipse. Good. No interfering moonlight.
The radiant is the point in the sky where the meteors appear to originate. This point lies in the constellation of Perseus; the constellation hosting the radiant gives its name to the meteor shower. The map below (3rd figure) shows the location of the Perseid radiant; Perseus will be rising in the northeast around 9:00 PM EDT on the 12th.
In Southeastern Connecticut, the radiant on the 12th/13th will be highest in our sky just before sunrise on Thursday, the 13th; it reaches its greatest elevation after daylight unfortunately for us. Your best shot at seeing some of the flaming scraps of Periodic comet Swift-Tuttle light up your sky will require you to stay up until nearly dawn. If you can't manage to stay up that late, no worries. You should be able to see some Perseids earlier in the evening, weather permitting, of course. Be patient and enjoy the peaceful beauty of a warm August night. Expect to sit and watch the heavens for at least an hour or more if you really want to spoth more than just a few of these celestial treats.
August 2026 still has more astronomical wonders to deliver! In two weeks, on August 28th will be a full Moon, the full Sturgeon Moon, and an almost-total lunar eclipse. More on this event will be coming soon.
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Image credits:
1) Partial solar eclipse. Image courtesy of L. F. Brown. Taken using a SeeStar Smart telescope.
3) Image courtesy of stellardiscovery.com.
