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Solar Eclipse Over Greenland, Six-Planet Alignment, Perseids Peak

8/1/2026

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Summary

Story summary

On August 12, 2026 a total solar eclipse will cross Greenland and Iceland, produce a 3.1% eclipse in United States, and align six planets—Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus.
The Perseid meteor shower will peak August 12-13 with about 80 meteors per hour under a new moon.
A partial lunar eclipse on August 27-28 will cover 96.2% of the Moon, with the full Sturgeon Moon rising at 12:18 a.m. EDT.

History

Historical Context

The 29 May 1919 total solar eclipse, observed by Arthur Eddington’s teams in Sobral, Brazil and Príncipe, yielded five photographs showing starlight deflection of 1.75 arcseconds and confirmed Einstein’s 1915 general relativity. That breakthrough established eclipse expeditions as a test of fundamental physics, a tradition now continued in the 12-13 August 2026 eclipse coordinated by NASA, ESA and the International Astronomical Union.

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Story summary

On August 12, 2026 a total solar eclipse will cross Greenland and Iceland, produce a 3.1% eclipse in United States, and align six planets—Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus.
The Perseid meteor shower will peak August 12-13 with about 80 meteors per hour under a new moon.
A partial lunar eclipse on August 27-28 will cover 96.2% of the Moon, with the full Sturgeon Moon rising at 12:18 a.m. EDT.

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