Astrophotography Blog: August 2026

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Partial Solar Eclipse in New York City – August 12, 2026

Maximum partial solar eclipse visible from New York City on August 12, 2026, with sunspot groups AR4508, AR4507 and AR4503

Maximum partial solar eclipse visible from New York City – August 12, 2026. About 9% of the Sun was covered by the Moon.

On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse crossed parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and a small part of Portugal. New York City was far outside the path of totality, but we still had a chance to see a partial solar eclipse, with about 9% of the Sun covered by the Moon at maximum eclipse.

I photographed the eclipse from New York City using a Canon EOS Ra with a Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM lens and Canon Extender EF 2x III, giving an effective focal length of 400mm. A Thousand Oaks 72-T threaded solar filter was used for all photographs.

For all photographs I kept the aperture fixed at f/8 for consistent sharpness, while varying the shutter speed and ISO to find the best exposure for showing the solar surface and sunspots. Because of these different exposure settings, the apparent color of the solar disk varies slightly between the images, from a deeper reddish-orange to a lighter, almost white appearance. In the darker, more reddish exposures, the contrast of the sunspots is generally stronger and they are easier to see.

The image above shows the maximum partial eclipse visible from New York City. The photographs below show the eclipse in chronological order, beginning when the Moon first started moving across the edge of the Sun.

Several groups of sunspots are also visible in the photographs. I identified three of them as AR4508, AR4507, and AR4503 using the solar images and active-region labels published by SpaceWeather.com. The active region AR4506 was also present on the Sun but was not clearly visible in my photographs.

Beginning of the Solar Eclipse

Beginning of the partial solar eclipse in New York City on August 12, 2026, with visible sunspots

Canon EOS Ra, Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM + Canon Extender EF 2x III (400mm), f/8, 1/640 sec, ISO 3200

This photograph was taken just a few minutes after the partial eclipse began at about 1:07 p.m. EDT. The Moon had just started moving onto the solar disk. Sunspot groups AR4508, AR4507, and AR4503 are visible across the Sun.

Partial Solar Eclipse over New York City

Canon EOS Ra, 400mm, f/8, 1/160 sec, ISO 320

The Moon moves farther across the edge of the Sun while the three sunspot groups remain clearly visible.

Solar Eclipse Progression

Progression of the August 12, 2026 partial solar eclipse in New York City with visible sunspot groups

Canon EOS Ra, 400mm, f/8, 1/160 sec, ISO 400.

As the eclipse progresses, the curved dark edge of the Moon becomes more pronounced against the bright solar disk.

Partial Solar Eclipse Near Maximum

Partial solar eclipse in New York City on August 12, 2026, near maximum eclipse

Canon EOS Ra, 400mm, f/8, 1/160 sec, ISO 200.

This photograph was taken later in the eclipse, when the Moon had moved farther across the solar disk and the eclipse was getting close to its maximum as seen from New York City.

Maximum Partial Solar Eclipse in NYC

The first image at the top of this post shows the maximum eclipse visible from New York City. Maximum eclipse occurred at about 1:54 p.m. EDT, when approximately 9% of the Sun was covered by the Moon. The photograph was taken with a Canon EOS Ra at 400mm, f/8, 1/160 sec and ISO 500.

Although this was very different from the spectacular total solar eclipse seen along the path of totality in Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, it was still an amazing astronomical event to observe and photograph from New York City.

The combination of the Moon's silhouette and several groups of sunspots made this relatively small partial eclipse especially interesting through a 400mm telephoto lens.