Total solar eclipse: how to watch live from home

A total solar eclipse will sweep across Europe on 12 August 2026, with the path of totality crossing Greenland, Iceland, northeastern Portugal, and Spain. During totality, the Moon completely hides the Sun's disc, revealing the wispy corona and causing stars to appear, temperatures to drop, and animals to behave unusually. Regions outside the narrow path will see a partial eclipse.

ESA's live broadcast starts at 19:30 CEST on 12 August via ESA Web TV or YouTube, hosted by Dame Dr Maggie Aderin and featuring ESA's Director of Science Professor Carole Mundell, scientists Andy To, Miho Janvier, and Martin Hewitson, and observatory director Javier Cenarro. The programme covers the Sun and its corona, how a famous eclipse changed our understanding of gravity, and ESA's artificial solar eclipse missions. The highlight is coverage of 1 minute 21 seconds of totality at 20:31 CEST from Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre in Teruel, Spain, with telescope feeds and drone shots. Viewers can ask questions via #AskESA on Bluesky or X, and the broadcast ends around 20:45 CEST.

The Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre is a professional facility located in the path of totality, housing telescopes designed for large-sky surveys that study galaxies, dark energy, and cosmic structure, making it an ideal vantage point for the eclipse.