PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSECardiff, United KingdomWednesday 12 August 2026 · times in BST (UTC+1)
93.2%
OF THE SUN COVERED
Almost all of the Sun went. The light weakened and cooled noticeably, shadows sharpened, and the temperature dropped — but it did not get dark, and the remaining sliver was still blinding.
02 · TIMING
When did it happen?
The whole eclipse ran 1h 50m. All times are local, in BST.
18:16 MAX 19:13 20:07
| Phase | LOCAL TIME | SUN |
|---|---|---|
| First contactthe Moon touches the Sun's edge | 18:16 | 21° W |
| Maximumthe deepest point | 19:13 | 12° W |
| Last contactthe Sun is whole again | 20:07 | 4° WNW |
03 · DIRECTION
Where was it in the sky?
At maximum the Sun was only 12° above the horizon to the west, so an open view in that direction was needed.
The Sun's height and bearing at maximum, from Cardiff. The horizon is at 0°.
THE EXPERIENCE
What it was actually like
With 93.2% of the Sun covered the light noticeably weakened and cooled, shadows grew sharp-edged, and the temperature dropped. Gaps between leaves projected rows of crescents onto the ground. The Sun stayed dangerous to look at throughout.
04 · POSITION
Where was it seen?
The path passed 788 km to the south-west of Cardiff and was 318 km wide. Only inside it was the Sun covered completely.
THE DAY
- SUNRISE
- 05:53
- SUNSET
- 20:41
- DAY LENGTH
- 14h 48m
- CIVIL DUSK
- 21:18
REFERENCE FIGURES
- OBSCURATION
- 93.2%
- COORDINATES
- 51.481° N, 3.179° W
- PATH WIDTH
- 318 km
- SHADOW SPEED
- 3,415 km/h
- SAROS
- 126 · no. 54
- MAGNITUDE
- 0.9392
- GAMMA
- 0.8977
Contact times are accurate to a couple of seconds at the coordinates above. Altitudes are geometric — unrefracted, on the WGS 84 ellipsoid.
NEXT FROM CARDIFF
What else is coming here?
The rest of what the sky over Cardiff has coming, soonest first.