Baku: The second and final solar eclipse of 2026 will occur on August 12. This eclipse will be a total solar eclipse, the Nasreddin Tusi Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory told APA.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the total phase of the eclipse will be visible along a path crossing Iceland, northwestern Spain and Portugal, Greenland, as well as the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. The partial solar eclipse will be visible across much of Europe, parts of North America, a portion of the Pacific Ocean, and northwestern Africa.

The eclipse will begin at 19:34 and end at 23:57 Baku time, with the maximum phase occurring at 21:46. It is expected to last approximately five hours in total, while the total obscuration of the Sun's disk will last for about seven minutes.

A solar eclipse occurs when the new Moon phase takes place at the point where the Moon's orbit intersects the Earth's orbit and the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth are aligned on the same line. These intersection points are called nodes in astronomy. Only an observer located within the Moon's full shadow can observe a total solar eclipse. As the distance from the center of the shadow increases, the percentage of the Sun's disk covered decreases, and an observer in the penumbra can observe only a partial eclipse. If the Moon is located slightly away from the node, then a total eclipse is not observed at all. Regardless of the observer's position, only a partial eclipse can be observed. Also, if the Moon is at the apogee of its orbit, then an annular solar eclipse is observed instead of a total solar eclipse, as the Moon cannot completely cover the Sun's disk.

Like the first solar eclipse of this year, the last solar eclipse of the year will also not be visible from Azerbaijan. The last solar eclipse observed from Azerbaijan was the partial solar eclipse that occurred on October 25, 2022. The next eclipse that can be observed from Azerbaijan will take place on August 2, 2027. Although this will be a total solar eclipse, only the partial phase will be visible from Azerbaijan, as the country will remain outside the path of totality.

The solar eclipse on August 12 can be watched by accessing the link provided.