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Millions Gather Across Europe and the Arctic for Rare Total Solar Eclipse

evening · · thread: Total Solar Eclipse to Sweep Across Spain, Iceland, and Greenland on August 12

23 sources across 14 countries · 1 of them is linked to a state

Who reported this

  • Der Spiegel Germany · Centre-left · ~50% staff-owned
  • Sueddeutsche Zeitung Germany · Centre-left · Sudwestdeutsche Medien Holding
  • Deutsche Welle Germany · Centre · Public · German federal public-law corporation
  • Frankfurter Allgemeine Germany · Centre-right · FAZIT-Stiftung (foundation)
  • elDiarioAR Argentina · Centre-left · Newsroom-majority owned, membership funded
  • La Nacion Argentina · Centre-right · Saguier family
  • G1 Brazil · Centre-left · Grupo Globo (Marinho family)
  • CNN Brasil Brazil · Centre · Rubens Menin (MRV)
  • Le Monde France · Centre-left · Fonds pour l'independance de la presse
  • France 24 France · Centre · Public · France Medias Monde (French state holding)
  • The Indian Express India · Centre · Indian Express Group (Goenka family)
  • Hindustan Times India · Centre-right · HT Media (KK Birla group)
  • Tempo English Indonesia · Centre-left · PT Tempo Inti Media
  • The Jakarta Post Indonesia · Centre-left · PT Bina Media Tenggara
  • The Guardian United Kingdom · Centre-left · Scott Trust Limited
  • The Independent United Kingdom · Centre-left · Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel and Evgeny Lebedev
  • Telex Hungary · Centre · Reader-funded, staff-owned
  • ANSA Italy · Centre · Publisher cooperative
  • NRC Netherlands · Centre · Mediahuis
  • Al Jazeera Qatar · Centre-left · State-affiliated · Qatari government funded
  • El Pais Spain · Centre-left · Grupo PRISA
  • Neue Zuercher Zeitung Switzerland · Centre-right · Dispersed shareholders, no controlling stake
  • CNN United States · Centre-left · Warner Bros. Discovery

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

A rare total solar eclipse occurred on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, sweeping across a path of totality that included northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, and a small portion of Portugal. While the total eclipse was limited to these regions, a partial eclipse was visible across much of Europe, North America, and northwestern Africa. In the United Kingdom, the event was noted as the most complete eclipse since 1999, with some areas seeing up to 95 percent coverage. In Germany, the sun was obscured by up to 90 percent. The phenomenon was not visible in Brazil, Argentina, or India.

Public demand for certified ISO 12312-2 solar viewing glasses led to widespread shortages. Reports from Munich and other European cities described long queues at pharmacies, opticians, and specialty shops. In Spain, the tourism industry saw a significant boost, with some estimates suggesting the event could generate over 347 million euros in revenue. However, the influx of visitors created logistical challenges. Spanish authorities implemented a special traffic plan to manage an estimated 400,000 to 1.5 million additional vehicle trips, while also warning of extreme forest fire risks due to the timing of the event.

Health agencies and astronomers warned that looking directly at the sun without certified protection can cause permanent retinal damage. For those without glasses, experts suggested indirect viewing methods such as pinhole projectors or using a kitchen colander to project the sun's image onto a surface. Scientific organizations, including NASA, utilized the event to study the sun's corona. NASA deployed a high altitude WB-57 aircraft to fly at 50,000 feet to capture infrared data that is typically absorbed by the lower atmosphere.

Outlets with a center-left lean focused heavily on the human interest stories of the event, such as the scramble for glasses and the experience of crowds. Center-right outlets emphasized the logistical and economic impacts, specifically highlighting traffic concerns and tourism revenue in Spain. Center outlets provided more technical and educational explanations of the astronomical mechanics behind the eclipse.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
These outlets emphasized the social atmosphere, the urgency of obtaining protective gear, and the general excitement of the public.
Centre
These outlets focused on the scientific explanations of the phenomenon and general factual overviews.
Centre-right
These outlets highlighted the economic benefits of tourism and the potential for logistical chaos and traffic congestion.

Sources

93% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.