Lazia, 13 August 2026 — The total solar eclipse of 12 August was not total over any Mahusetan territory. From the Confederation’s Dutch claims it was seen instead as a deep partial eclipse, beginning at 19:16, reaching its maximum at about 20:11 and covering roughly 88 per cent of the sun. Totality itself fell well beyond the Confederation.
The path of totality crossed eastern Greenland, western Iceland, the northern half of Spain and the north-east corner of Portugal, together with a remote part of Siberian Russia. The maximum duration of totality was 2 minutes and 18 seconds. It was the first total solar eclipse with a path of totality over Europe in 27 years; in Spain the sun was not fully eclipsed until late evening, shortly before sunset.
The Mahusetan Institute of Aeronautics and Space, which supported a public skywatching initiative for the Apollo 11 anniversary in 2019, issued a viewing advisory before the event. It recommended certified solar filters and cautioned against looking at the sun with the unaided eye or through unfiltered optics, since a partial eclipse affords none of the brief interval that totality allows.
In Amsterdam the maximum was 88.2 per cent at 20:10 local time, with the sun only 7.9 degrees above the western horizon. On that account the institute advised observers in Groot-Geestmerambacht, within Alkmaar, and in Cherrystan, within Hoorn, to secure an unobstructed western sightline. The best position in the Netherlands was near Bergen op Zoom, at 89.08 per cent.
It was the largest partial eclipse visible from the Netherlands until 2081, and fell on the same night as the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, a coincidence noted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Science. A partial eclipse was also visible across much of Europe, most of Canada, parts of the northern United States from Alaska to North Carolina, and north-western Africa.
