Get ready for a rare double feature in the sky on Wednesday, when parts of the United States will be able to see a partial solar eclipse during the day, then the Perseid meteor shower peak in the evening. Meanwhile, Europe is on deck for a full solar eclipse.
Here’s what to know.
Timing and forecast for the 2026 solar eclipse
A total solar eclipse, when the moon completely covers the sun, will sweep across Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain, and a small corner of Portugal on Wednesday, August 12, according to NASA.
It will start around 11:34 a.m. ET, achieving maximum eclipse at 1:46 p.m. ET. NASA will live stream the eclipse starting at 1:15 p.m. ET at https://www.nasa.gov/live.
The space agency says the sun will go totally dark in a remote region in northern Russia around midday, and in Greenland and Iceland during late afternoon or early evening. In Spain and the very northwestern tip of Portugal, the sun won’t be fully eclipsed until right before sunset. (This map shows where the solar eclipse will be visible.) It’s Europe’s first total solar eclipse since 1999, according to Space.
However, NASA says people in the northern United States will be able to see only a partial solar eclipse from Alaska to North Carolina, which will begin around midday and linger into midafternoon for those farthest east. It will appear as a crescent shape.
During a partial solar eclipse, don’t stare at the sun
During a partial solar eclipse, it is unsafe to look directly at the sun without proper eye protection, per NASA. Even staring at the sun for a short time can damage the eye, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
In fact, you won’t be able to see the partial eclipse with your naked eye. You’ll only be able to see it with “eclipse glasses” or safe solar viewers. To be clear, sunglasses are not safe for viewing the event. Instead, NASA recommends certified ISO 12312-2 solar eclipse glasses.
Where to watch the partial solar eclipse in the U.S.
Here’s the best time to watch the partial eclipse across the U.S.:
- Anchorage, Alaska: 8:21 a.m. AKT
- Bangor, Maine: 1:53 p.m. ET
- Boston: 1:55 p.m. ET
- Detroit: 1:36 p.m. ET
- New York: 1:54 p.m. ET
- Philadelphia: 1:53 p.m. ET
- Washington, D.C.: 1:53 p.m. ET
2026 Perseid meteor shower peak
Next, the annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to reach its peak Wednesday evening into the early morning of Thursday, August 13.
The Perseids, which have been active since mid-July, are debris from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. The annual event is known for putting on an impressive celestial light show, producing as many as 50 to 100 meteors per hour under ideal conditions.
The meteor shower is best viewed between midnight and 5:00 a.m. local time, in a dark night sky. The American Meteor Society estimates 30 to 50 meteors per hour could be seen from rural regions, as reported by The Associated Press.
A new moon will likely set the stage for good viewing conditions. “New moon means we don’t have moonlight flooding the sky, and you tend to see way more meteors as a result,” Aparna Venkatesan, an astronomer at the University of San Francisco, told the AP.
