The solar eclipse of 12 August 2026 in Northern Ireland
Wednesday 12 August 2026, early evening. The Moon takes between 92.9% and 93.8% of the Sun out of the sky over Northern Ireland, with maximum between 19:07 and 19:08 BST (UTC+1) and the Sun only 14.8–15.9° above the western horizon. Not total — the shadow passes to the north-west — but the deepest since 1999.
A note on what you are reading, because this site covers several countries: Northern Ireland is part of the UK section, and every figure below is computed for Northern Irish coordinates and British Summer Time. The Republic of Ireland is a separate country with a separate dataset — 93.7% to 97.1% across 54 towns — and nothing from one is ever mixed into a figure of the other. For the whole of Britain, see the UK section.
Northern Ireland in numbers
- Deepest
- 93.8% in Derry, maximum at 19:07
- Belfast
- 93.1% maximum at 19:08, Sun 14.9° high
- The whole evening
- 18:09–20:03 first bite to last, BST (UTC+1)
- Towns computed
- 7 spread of just 0.9 percentage points
All times are BST (UTC+1), the clock time in Northern Ireland that evening. No conversion needed.
Every town, minute by minute
The 7 Northern Irish localities in our UK dataset, deepest first. Each name links to its own page, with the timeline of the evening and what you will actually notice there.
| Town | Sun covered | Starts | Maximum | Ends | Sun height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derry | 93.8% | 18:09 | 19:07 | 20:02 | 15.9° |
| Craigavon | 93.5% | 18:10 | 19:08 | 20:03 | 15.1° |
| Lisburn | 93.2% | 18:10 | 19:08 | 20:03 | 15° |
| Belfast | 93.1% | 18:10 | 19:08 | 20:03 | 14.9° |
| Castlereagh | 93.1% | 18:10 | 19:08 | 20:03 | 14.9° |
| Newtownabbey | 93% | 18:10 | 19:08 | 20:03 | 14.9° |
| Bangor | 92.9% | 18:10 | 19:08 | 20:02 | 14.8° |
In none of these towns does the Sun set before the eclipse is over: the whole event happens in the sky, low but above the horizon.
What it will actually look like
At 93.1% the Moon takes an enormous bite out of the Sun, yet the light stays close to normal: the eye compensates so well that, without eclipse glasses, most people walking past would miss it entirely. Look through the filter and the crescent is unmistakable. At maximum the Sun sits 14.9° above the horizon — low, so pick a spot with an open western skyline.
Northern Ireland sits above the 94% line that separates «a big bite you would miss without a filter» from «light that goes strange on its own», which is why the description above is the one it gets. It is the deepest solar eclipse the region has seen since 1999 — the Royal Observatory Greenwich says the same of the UK as a whole. What it does not get is darkness, stars or a corona: that only happens inside the path, and the path is not here.
The thing that decides your evening is not which town you stand in — the whole region is within 0.9 percentage points — but what is in front of you to the west-north-west. At 14.8–15.9° above the horizon, a row of houses, a hedge or a hill is enough to hide the whole thing. A sea view, a west- facing hillside or open water is worth more than any drive. The Met Office is the place to check the cloud the day before; we will not pretend to know it now.
If you want the real thing
The honest version, in two options measured in a straight line from Belfast:
- Cariño (A Coruña, Spain) — about 1217 km away, with 1m 46s of totality and the Sun 0° high. See that town →
- Grindavíkurbær (Grindavíkurbær, Iceland) — about 1379 km away, with 1m 30s and the Sun 24.6° high. See that town →
Both are flights, not drives, and at this distance from the date the useful thing to know is that the difference between 93.8% and 100% is not a matter of degree: it is the difference between a strange evening and the only thing in nature that people cross oceans for. Our Spain guide is the front door if you are tempted.
The rest of eclipse day
Eclipse glasses with UK delivery
Certified EN ISO 12312-2:2015 glasses declared for the UK market, from €24.95 with delivery included — and how to check the marking on any pair in two minutes.
The UK viewing guide
Eye safety in plain English, a step-by-step of the evening, and the one piece of advice that decides whether you see anything at all: the western horizon.
All 220 UK towns, ranked
Where Northern Ireland sits against England, Wales and Scotland: 92.9–93.8% here against 89.6–96.4% across the whole country.
Across the border: the Republic
A separate country, a separate dataset and a slightly different eclipse: 93.7% to 97.1% across 54 towns and cities.
Questions people actually ask
Is the solar eclipse of 12 August 2026 total in Northern Ireland?
No. Nowhere in Northern Ireland is inside the path of totality, and no honest page will tell you otherwise: the Moon's shadow passes to the north-west and comes ashore in northern Spain. What Northern Ireland gets is a deep partial eclipse — 92.9% to 93.8% of the Sun covered — which is the deepest it has seen since 1999, but the sky does not go dark and there is no corona.
What time is the solar eclipse in Belfast?
In Belfast the partial phase begins at 18:10, maximum is at 19:08 with 93.1% of the Sun covered, and it ends at 20:03 — all times BST (UTC+1). At maximum the Sun is only 14.9° above the horizon, so an open view to the west-north-west decides whether you see it at all.
Where in Northern Ireland will the eclipse be deepest?
Derry, at 93.8%, with maximum at 19:07. The spread across the whole of Northern Ireland is 0.9 percentage points, so it is not worth driving anywhere for the difference. A clear western horizon is worth far more than a few tenths of a per cent.
Do I need eclipse glasses for a partial eclipse?
Yes, for every second of it. A partial eclipse is more dangerous than an ordinary sunny day precisely because it invites you to stare: the retina has no pain receptors, so damage happens without warning. Only filters that meet EN ISO 12312-2:2015 are safe to look through — sunglasses, smoked glass, exposed film and camera filters are not, no matter how dark they look.
Where is the nearest place that gets totality?
Cariño, in A Coruña, Spain — about 1217 km from Belfast in a straight line, with 1m 46s of totality. The other option is Grindavíkurbær, Iceland, about 1379 km away with 1m 30s. Both are flights, not drives.
Circumstances computed for the coordinates of each locality with JPL DE440s ephemerides, the same pipeline that powers the Spanish and Icelandic pages on this site. All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1).