Our favorite reader images of the 2026 total eclipse

Credit: David Gluchowski On Aug. 12, a total solar eclipse crossed Iceland and Spain — the first time totality has touched European soil since 1999, and the first time it’s crossed Iceland since 1954. Clouds spoiled the view for many in Iceland, but skies cleared for eclipse chasers in Spain. There, totality fell almost at sunset: some viewers watched the Sun dip below the horizon while the Moon still partially covered it. A partial eclipse was visible across much of Europe, western Africa, and parts of eastern North America throughout the evening. As always, our readers were there to capture the moment. Here are 14 of our favorite reader-submitted images of the 2026 solar eclipse. Credit: Radoslav Zboran The Sun's corona blazes around the Moon's silhouette during totality as pink prominences flare at the edges, as seen from Setiles, Spain. Photographer Radoslav Zboran captured the eclipse at a focal length of 600mm, telling Astronomy that seeing the eclipse through "such a tight crop was nothing short of epic." Zboran used a Canon 6D Mark II with a Sigma 150-600mm lens on an Artcise CT60C carbon fiber tripod. Credit: Rajat Kumar Pal A crescent Sun peeks through clouds during the partial solar eclipse as seen from Massachusetts. Rajat Kumar Pal says the clouds turned an already beautiful sight into a dramatic scene, evoking the Hindu legend of Rahu, the shadow being said to devour the Sun during an eclipse. Pal took the image with a Canon 6D Mark II at focal length of 500mm. Credit: Philipp Stiegler The Moon creeps across the Sun's face during the partial phase of the eclipse, with dark filaments and bright active regions visible across the solar surface. The photographer shot this image from Michelberg in Lower Austria, using an Acuter 40mm/400mm telescope on an AZ-GTi mount paired with a ZWO ASI678MM camera. He stacked and processed the result with FireCapture, AutoStakkert, RegiStax, and Affinity Photo 2. Credit: Gianni Tumino A sequence of images traces the eclipse from its early partial phase through Baily's beads and the diamond ring effect to full totality, photographed from La Coruña, Spain. Photographer Gianni Tumino captured the first three partial-phase frames through an AstroSolar filter, then switched to an unfiltered lens for the final four as totality approached. He shot the sequence with a Canon EOS R5 and a Canon RF 100-500mm zoom lens at 500mm, compositing the frames in Photoshop. Credit: ​Vasilis Misirlis The Sun's corona spreads in fine detail around the Moon during totality, with a bright pink prominence flaring at the lower left. This moment was captured from Valladolid, Spain, with the photographer calling the experience of witnessing totality one that "stays with you for the rest of your life." He shot the image with a Canon T3i and a 135mm M42 lens, bracketing exposures from 1/1600 to 1/2 second at f/5.6 and ISO 100, then stacked the results to bring out the corona and the prominences. Credit: Giovanni Passalacqua A partial solar eclipse dips into the tree-lined horizon at sunset, with a small sunspot visible on the solar disk. Giovanni Passalacqua caught the crescent Sun just before it slipped from view, framing the eclipse against the reddened evening sky. He shot the image from Ragusa, Sicily, with a Canon EOS R and a Sigma 600mm lens at f/8, 1/200 second, and ISO 100, then processed it in Photoshop. Credit: Jamie Cooper A small slice of sunlight emerges from behind the Moon as totality ends over Mirador El Toro, Majorca. Thin streaks of clouds diffuse the corona's glow. Photographer Jamie Cooper used a Canon EOS R8 on a tripod with a Canon 300mm f/2.8 lens and 2x extender for an effective 600mm focal length, shooting at f/5.6, 1/1400 second, and ISO 8000. Credit: David Gluchowski The diamond ring flares over a darkened bell tower and cemetery in the village of Villarroane on the outskirts of León, Spain. Taken in the seconds before totality, David Gluchowski's image uses a narrow aperture to draw the Sun's last sliver into a sharp starburst, framing the eclipse against the silhouette of the village church. He shot the single exposure with a Canon EOS R8 and a Canon EF 24-70mm lens. Credit: José Rosado What would an eclipse gallery be without a transit photo? This photo of the partial solar eclipse over Évora Monte in Portugal's Alentejo region catches an airplane crossing the Sun's disk. The photographer caught the chance alignment with an Olympus OM-D E-M1 II and a 100-400mm lens at 400mm (800mm equivalent), using an ND 100000 filter at f/8, ISO 100, and 1/500 second. Credit: Alexandru Barbovschi The Sun glides across the Spanish horizon in this strikingly symmetrical timelapse, each frame marking a step of the eclipse, with twin diamond rings glowing at the composite's center. This image was assembled by Alexandru Barbovschi from Bodega Hacienda Molleda winery near Cariñena in Aragon, Spain. He shot the sequence with a Sony A7R IIIA and a Tamron 28-75mm lens at 72mm and f/8, using a Baader AstroSolar ND5 filter for the partial phases and automated timing with a Raspberry Pi running Solar Eclipse Workbench. Credit: Kevin Rosero A totally eclipsed Sun glows above the darkened farmland of Migueláñez, Spain, as a small crowd looks on in awe. Photographer Kevin Rosero captured this painterly landscape with a Samsung Galaxy S23 FE — no filter, no edits, no telescope — proof that totality's sublime wonder comes through even on a smartphone. He shot at f/1.8, ISO 1000, 1/24 second, and 23mm. Credit: Pedro-Luis Cuadrado A 10-frame sequence traces Baily's beads fading into darkness over five seconds as totality begins, seen from Chiloeches, Guadalajara, Spain. Pedro-Luis Cuadrado shot the sequence unfiltered with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and a Canon 100-400mm L lens at 400mm, f/8, ISO 100, and 1/1600 second, on an untracked tripod. Credit: Joseph Caruana A rather large and impressive pink prominence was the star of totality during the eclipse, captured by photographers all along the path. Joseph Caruana shared his view of the feature during totality from Canalejas de Peñafiel, Spain, showing a wispy jet of plasma arcing beyond the Sun's limb. He shot the photo using a Nikon Z8 and a Nikkor 180-600mm lens at 600mm, tracked with a Fornax LighTrack II mount. Credit: Jamie Cooper A glowing crescent Sun descends over the sea just moments after totality near Mirador El Toro, Majorca, its light rippling over the water as sailboats float below. Jamie Cooper caught this surreal moment with a Canon EOS R8 on a tripod, using a Canon 300mm f/2.8 lens with a 2x extender for an effective 600mm focal length, at f/5.6, 1/125 second, and ISO 400.