August 12, 2026 Total Solar Eclipse: What NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir Captured from the ISS, the Rare Path of Totality, and the Celestial Double Feature with the Perseid Meteor Shower

On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse swept across the Northern Hemisphere, offering a rare celestial spectacle that was documented from multiple vantage points—including from space aboard the International Space Station (ISS). NASA astronaut Jessica Meir captured the Moon's umbral shadow racing across Earth's surface, while NASA photographer Joel Kowsky on the ground caught the ISS itself crossing the Sun's disk in silhouette. The eclipse's path of totality stretched from Siberia to the Mediterranean, and it shared the calendar with a New Moon and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, making it one of the most eventful skywatching days in years.

What Jessica Meir Captured from the ISS

Jessica Meir, a NASA astronaut aboard the ISS as part of Expedition 75, photographed the Moon's shadow (the umbra) sweeping across Earth's surface during the eclipse . From her vantage point roughly 262 miles above the planet, she was able to document a perspective that ground-based observers could never achieve .

Meir shared images of the partial eclipse as seen from the station, reporting that the ISS's orbital path meant the crew saw only about 18% Sun coverage at peak . She posted four images captured with a Nikon Z9 and 800mm lens from a window in the Russian segment of the station .

What Made Her Orbital Photography Rare

Meir's photography was unusual for several reasons:

• Orbital perspective: From ~262 miles up, she photographed the Moon's shadow moving across the planet—a view impossible from the ground .
• Timing and velocity: The ISS orbits Earth every ~90 minutes. Capturing the exact moment the shadow passed beneath the station required precise orbital mechanics. The station was simultaneously photographed from the ground as it transited the Sun at roughly five miles per second, confirming the crew was in the right place at the right time .
• Multiple vantage points: While the ISS crew documented the eclipse from above, ground teams captured it from Earth, enabling rare space-to-ground comparisons .

How Joel Kowsky Documented the Event from the Ground

NASA photographer Joel Kowsky was stationed in Hodgdon, Maine, where he captured a striking image of the ISS transiting the partially eclipsed Sun . In the photograph, the Sun is partially obscured by clouds and the Moon during the partial eclipse, with the ISS appearing as a small dark silhouette crossing the solar disk at high speed—roughly five miles per second .

This type of transit photography is extremely difficult. The ISS crosses the Sun's disk in less than a second, requiring the photographer to precisely time the shot while accounting for both the progression of the eclipse and the station's orbital path . Kowsky's image showed the station with its crew of seven—including Meir, Anil Menon, Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, Andrey Fedyaev, and Anna Kikina—racing across the face of the Sun .

Path of Totality Across Earth

The path of totality for the August 12, 2026 total solar eclipse followed this sequence :

1. Far northern Siberia (Russia) – The umbra first touched Earth near the Khatanga Gulf on the Arctic coastline around 17:00 UTC .
2. Arctic Ocean / near the North Pole – The shadow raced northward, passing near the North Pole .
3. Eastern Greenland – The path crossed the island's eastern side .
4. Iceland – Western Iceland experienced totality, though for a short duration (roughly 1–2 minutes) .
5. North Atlantic Ocean – The point of greatest eclipse occurred in the Denmark Strait, west of Iceland, where totality lasted up to 2 minutes 18 seconds and the shadow path was at its widest (~294 km/183 mi) .
6. Northern Spain – Totality swept across Spain from west to east, passing over cities including La Coruña, León, Zaragoza, and Palma. It was visible as a "sunset eclipse" .
7. Northeastern Portugal – A small corner of Portugal also fell within the path .
8. Western Mediterranean – The shadow lifted off Earth at sunset .

This was the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Western Europe since 1999 .

Notable Celestial Events Coinciding

The August 12 eclipse coincided with two other notable events, all occurring on the same date :

• New Moon – The eclipse occurred on the exact date of the New Moon, which is the necessary condition for any solar eclipse .
• Perseid Meteor Shower Peak – The Perseid meteor shower reached its peak on the night of August 12–13, just hours after the total solar eclipse . Because a New Moon produces the darkest possible skies, viewing conditions for the Perseids were described as the best in a decade—no moonlight washed out fainter meteors .
• Rare alignment – Having a total solar eclipse during the day and the peak of a major meteor shower that same night was a coincidental but highly unusual pairing of celestial events . Experts noted the two events are unrelated astronomically—eclipses happen about twice a year, while the Perseids recur annually in mid-August—but together they created what some called a "strangest sky day" for skywatchers .

These coincidences meant observers in the right locations could witness a total solar eclipse at sunset, followed by a dark-sky Perseid meteor shower that same night—a combination that will not repeat in the same way for many years .