2026 Partial Solar Eclipse

The solar eclipse of 12th August 2026, as seen from Germany. I was not in the path of totality.

This picture was taken at 20:00, about 15 minutes before maximum coverage. I believe this is actually the most interesting one: Not only are there a couple of sunspots visible, at the edge of the moon you can also make out the mountains on its surface:

Partial Solar Eclipse through a telescope. Some sunspots are visible
At 20:00
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Partial Solar Eclipse through a telescope, Maximum
Maximum coverage (ca. 90%) at around 20:13
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Partial Solar Eclipse through a telescope, the sun is starting to disappear behind trees.
At 20:24, the sun is starting to disappear behind the trees
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Image Metadata This applies to all three photos above.
TelescopeSkywatcher Skyliner 200/1200
FilterBaader AstroSolar
CameraCanon EOS 1200D
Exposure1/320s @ ISO 100
Resolution5184 x 3456 / 18 MPX
Seen fromOberhausen, Germany

During maximum coverage at around 20:13. The sun didn't look a lot dimmer than usual, but the light felt different. The feeling is difficult if not impossible to capture on camera, and hard to describe at all. It just felt and looked a little stranger than usual. The light must have been sharper.

The sun above a very dry looking lawn, photographed during a partial solar eclipse. The shape of the eclipse is visible in the lens flare.
At 20:13, not taken through the telescope. Notice the lens flare in the shape of the eclipse
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The Setup

Pictured below is my telescope with solar filters and the camera attached. This is the actual position I had to use to see the eclipse — the sun was so low in the sky that the telescope had to be almost parallel to the ground.

The cardboard housing of both filters is homemade (obviously), but the most important part, the film that actually does the filtering, is not. I originally made the filters to see the solar eclipse of 2015, which fell through thanks to bad weather (also pictured below). Despite their appearance, they have held up remarkably well.

The wire snaking away from the camera belongs to a remote control. I use this to reduce shaking compared to pressing the shutter button on the camera itself, which can be a real issue when shooting through a telescope.

A Dobson telescope with solar filters and a DSLR camera attached
Telescope with solar filters attached
Display of a camera attached to a telescope. The partial solar eclipse is visible on the camera's display
Camera attached to the telescope
Some trees and the corner of a building in front of an entirely overcast sky. There is also light fog.
The disappointing eclipse of 2015
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