Basque Country

The Basque Country will experience a fascinating astronomical situation in 2026. The line that separates light from total darkness will cross the region, leaving two of its capitals in the night and the third at the gates of totality.

On 12 August 2026, the path of totality will include Alava and a large part of Bizkaia. Vitoria-Gasteiz will be the best positioned capital, as it will get more than one minute of totality. Bilbao will also be under the shadow of the eclipse, although it will experience a shorter totality (around 30 seconds) as it is close to the northern boundary of the strip. And what about San Sebastian? The capital of Gipuzkoa will remain, literally, at the gates. It will experience a partial eclipse of extreme magnitude (99.8%), where the sun will be reduced to an almost imperceptible thread of light and the darkness will be deep, but without showing the solar corona.

Both the 2 August 2027 and 26 January 2028 eclipses will be partial. The 2028 event will be particularly beautiful on the coast: coinciding with the winter sunset, it will be possible to observe how the sun, bitten by the moon, sinks into the Cantabrian Sea, offering a picturesque image from places such as the flysch of Zumaia or San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.