The next two total solar eclipses will both pass over the same country, each occurring less than a year apart.
Spain is the only country in the world to experience the path of totality for the solar eclipse on 12 August 2026, as well as the eclipse on 2 August 2027, offering sky gazers a unique opportunity to witness the celestial event.
Six of the top 10 sunniest cities in Europe are in Spain, meaning there is little chance it will be obscured by clouds.
Taking place at the height of the August tourist season, the Great European Eclipse of 2026 will see the path of totality cross over most of northern Spain, as well as the Balearic islands.
A third eclipse will also be visible in Spain in January 2028, though it will only be an annular solar eclipse.
This is were the Moon covers the Sun’s centre but leaves the outer edges visible to produce a “ring of fire”.
All three of the solar eclipses will be visible from the UK as partial solar eclipses, though the chance of clear skies is less certain.
Astronomers recommend using special glasses to view the eclipses to avoid damage, or to use home made projection equipment to track the Moon’s progression as it passes in front of the Sun.
"You mustn't look at it with the naked eye, you mustn't look at it with a telescope – unless you have the right kind of filters,” said Dr Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society.
"It's perfectly possible to take a picture of a solar eclipse. My recommendation would be that if you're projecting the image onto a piece of white card, that you just photograph the projection and then you can see the progression of the eclipse and see that bite taken out of the Sun as the Moon moves across it."
