When is the next one?
The eclipse of 12 August 2026 is the deepest solar eclipse visible from the UK and Ireland since 1999, and the deepest until 2081. What follows it is a fortnight of one eclipse season, and then a long wait.
12 August 2026
Deep partial solar eclipse
The whole of the UK and IrelandFrom here
Between 88% and 97% of the Sun covered, low in the west - the deepest since 1999 and the deepest until 2081.
You are reading about this one.
16 days later
28 August 2026
Partial lunar eclipse
Visible from the UK and IrelandFrom here
A deep partial, not a glancing one: 93% of the Moon’s diameter is inside the Earth’s shadow at maximum, and most of the disc goes red. It peaks around 05:13 BST, low in the west-southwest in dawn twilight, and the Moon sets about an hour later, before the partial phase has finished. Safe to watch with no equipment at all - a lunar eclipse needs no filters, because you are looking at the Moon.
11 months later
2 August 2027
Total solar eclipse
Southern Spain, Gibraltar and North AfricaTravel
Over six minutes of totality near Luxor, and around four and a half minutes over southern Spain - one of the longest of the century. A realistic trip from the UK, and totality is a completely different experience from even a 96% partial.
5 months later
12 January 2028
Partial lunar eclipse
Visible from the UK and IrelandFrom here
A graze rather than a spectacle: about 7% of the Moon’s diameter clips the Earth’s shadow, for under an hour in the early morning. High in the west and the whole of it visible from here, but the naked eye will struggle to see that the Moon is anything but full.
14 days later
26 January 2028
Annular solar eclipse
Spain and Portugal, partial from the UKFrom here
A ring of Sun remains visible around the Moon at maximum. From the UK this is another partial, and the same rules apply: filters throughout.