A black sun ringed by its corona, hanging 2.5° above the Mediterranean, minutes before sunset. One of the last places on Earth touched by the Moon's shadow — and the whole island is in the path.
Times for Palma, 12 August 2026 (CEST). The whole island — plus Menorca and Ibiza — is inside the path of totality.
First bite — the partial eclipse begins. Certified glasses ON.
TOTALITY. 1m 36s of darkness. Glasses off — corona, planets, a 360° sunset glow.
Diamond ring. Glasses back ON instantly.
The still-eclipsed crescent sun sinks into the sea. Unrepeatable photo.
With the sun this low, where you stand decides whether you see totality or a hillside. Rule one: an open sea horizon at bearing ~288° (west-northwest).
★ Prime zones · ⚓ boat position · ⚠ terrain traps for a 2.5° sun. The stars stay on the map — the names, GPS coordinates and the why are in the guide below.
Everyone knows the eclipse is coming. Almost nobody has worked out the geometry of a sun 2.5° above the sea. We did — down to coordinates.
The ✕-marks-the-spot detail maps, GPS coordinates for land & boat, the Sant Elm trap analysis, hour-by-hour eclipse-day plan, and the printable multilingual PDF.
Get the Guide — €9Instant PDF download · secure checkout · price rises in August
Certified stock across the island is already tightening. Sort all three in one order.
Wednesday 12 August 2026: partial begins 19:38, totality 20:31:05–20:32:41 CEST (1m 36s in Palma), and the sun sets at 20:50 still partially eclipsed.
Anywhere with a flat, open sea horizon at bearing ~288° (WNW): the NW-coast cliff miradors, Port de Sóller headlands, Cap de Formentor — or a boat west of the island, the only guaranteed horizon. The exact GPS spots are in the guide.
Yes — eclipse boat charters and viewing events are selling now and will sell out. Sky & Telescope's Mallorca tour ($9,600/person) sold out months ago.
Only a partial one. On 2 August 2027 totality crosses southern Spain (Cádiz, Málaga) and North Africa with up to 6+ minutes of darkness — Mallorca sees a deep partial. Join the list and we'll cover it.
West-coast August evenings run ~75% clear historically. The risk is haze right at the horizon — which is why the guide includes a same-day decision method and backup spots, and why boats beat beaches.