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Skywatchers across a swath of northern Spain witnessed a total solar eclipse when the Moon lined up directly between the Sun and Earth on August 12, 2026. Those within the path of totality had the rare chance to glimpse the Sun\u2019s active outer atmosphere, or corona<\/a>, during the short time the Moon blocked the Sun.<\/p>\n This composite photo was taken before, during, and after the total eclipse from a field of appropriately themed flowers in San Mill\u00e1n de los Caballeros, a town about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Le\u00f3n in northwestern Spain. Along with parts of Greenland and Iceland, Northern Spain was one of the few places<\/a> on land that fell within this eclipse\u2019s path of totality.<\/p>\n Sunset was approaching when the Moon\u2019s shadow, or umbra, swept across Spain. In Le\u00f3n, the partial eclipse began<\/a> at 7:32 p.m. and ended at 9:22 p.m. local time, just minutes before the Sun dipped below the horizon. Totality lasted about two minutes, starting at 8:28 p.m. Farther east in Spain, the Sun set before the eclipse ended.<\/p>\n In the photo above, taken during totality, a glowing loop of plasma called a\u00a0solar prominence<\/a>\u00a0is visible extending into the corona on the left.\u00a0Plasma<\/a>, a super-hot gas composed mostly of ionized hydrogen and helium, flows along the tangled and twisted structure of the Sun\u2019s magnetic fields. Solar prominences, which can measure many times higher than Earth is wide, are sometimes visible to the naked eye during eclipses.<\/p>\n Solar eclipses offer NASA the opportunity to get a different look at the Sun and our own atmosphere. On August 12, science teams staged in Iceland to chase the Moon\u2019s shadow<\/a> in one of NASA\u2019s WB-57 high-altitude jets and image the corona in visible and infrared light. And the NASA-supported Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project<\/a> launched scientific balloons before, during, and after the eclipse to measure how Earth\u2019s atmosphere changed when the Sun was temporarily blocked.<\/p>\n While viewing opportunities in the path of totality were limited, the rest of Europe and parts of Africa, Canada, and the U.S. experienced a\u00a0partial eclipse<\/a>. Photos and video from the total and partial eclipse are available in NASA\u2019s image library<\/a>. The next total solar eclipse<\/a> will occur on August 2, 2027, with the path of totality crossing southern Spain, North Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.\u00a0<\/p>\n NASA photos<\/a> by Bill Ingalls. Story by Lindsey Doermann.<\/em><\/p>\n\n