Total solar eclipse 2026 thrills millions with a stunning cosmic spectacle (photos, video)

And just like that, it's over.

Total solar eclipses are incredible moments in time, but they are fleeting.

As the moon passes directly in front of the sun and its shadow sweeps across Earth's surface, the temperature drops and the light takes on an eerie twilight quality.

Birds and other animals go quiet.

It's a spectacle unlike any other.

And for millions today who were lucky enough to be in the path of totality across Greenland, Iceland and Spain, that's exactly what they experienced .

"I cannot believe what I just witnessed.

I knew what to expect — I've seen thousands of photos but nothing compares to that feeling you get when you watch the sun transform before your very eyes," Space.com skywatching editor Daisy Dobrijevic said after watching the eclipse from the deck of the MS Spitsbergen on the HX Expeditions eclipse voyage in Scoresby Sund, Greenland on Aug.

12, 2026.

The sun during a total solar eclipse as seen from the deck of the MS Spitsbergen on the HX Expeditions eclipse voyage in Scoresby Sund, Greenland on Aug.

12, 2026. (Image credit: Daisy Dobrijevic/Future) "It looked so big in the sky with the delicate corona streaming out into the abyss.

Jupiter, Mercury and Venus even joined in the show.

The huge prominence was the icing on the cake," Dobrijevic added.

"This is something I will never forget and I feel privileged to have experienced it in one of the most remarkable environments on Earth and alongside an incredible group of people aboard HX Expedition's MS Spitsbergen." The sun during a total solar eclipse as seen from deck of the MS Spitsbergen on the HX Expeditions eclipse voyage in Scoresby Sund on Aug.