Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 12, a deep partial solar eclipse will pass over Poland: the Moon will cover approximately 64% of the solar disk in the southeast of the country and more than 85% in the west. It will begin between 19:11 and 19:18, reaching its maximum at around 20:00–20:10, just before sunset. You will need an unobstructed western horizon and a certified filter.
There will be no path of totality over us — Poland lies outside it. The Moon’s dark shadow will begin at sunrise over Siberia’s Taymyr Peninsula, cross the Arctic Ocean, eastern Greenland and western Iceland, and then continue across the Atlantic. The total eclipse will be visible to residents of Iceland, northern Spain and a small part of Portugal — the municipality of Bragança. Here, the solar disk will be deeply obscured, and at one of the most beautiful times of day.
What time will the eclipse begin? Times for cities
The moment of first contact depends on where you are standing: things get interesting earliest over the Baltic coast and latest in the south. The differences are measured in minutes, but with an event that ends together with sunset, every minute matters. Arrive earlier than the table indicates — looking for a spot with a view to the west after the fact will cost you the most valuable minutes.
| City | Eclipse begins | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Gdańsk | 19:11 | approx. 20:00–20:10 (general range for the country) |
| Szczecin | 19:13 | 20:06 |
| Warsaw | 19:14–19:15 | approx. 20:03 |
| Poznań | 19:15 | 20:07 |
| Wrocław | 19:17 | 20:09 |
| Kraków | 19:18 | visible maximum at approx. 19:56 — the Sun will set before the formal maximum; observation ends at approx. 20:04 |
Of the locations listed by the sources, the maximum occurs latest in Jelenia Góra — at 20:10. The coverage increases from the southeast toward the west: from approximately 64% to more than 85%, reaching around 88% in the Kłodzko Valley area. Kraków has the most difficult conditions in this respect: the Sun will set there before the eclipse reaches its formal maximum, so the spectacle will be cut short halfway through.
Never look at the Sun with the naked eye. This is not an exaggeration
A partial eclipse can be deceptive because even a narrow crescent of the solar disk shines brightly enough to permanently damage the retina. The worst part is that the body sends no warning signal in this situation.
Retinal damage from looking at the Sun is painless. The absence of pain does not mean it is safe.
- These do not protect your eyes: sunglasses, smoked glass, photographic film, CDs, emergency blankets or camera filters.
- Only these provide protection: certified solar-viewing glasses compliant with ISO 12312-2, as well as special telescope and lens filters. Hold them up to the light before heading out — a scratch or pinhole makes them unsuitable.
- Do not aim a camera, phone or binoculars at the Sun without an approved filter. You risk damaging both the sensor and your own eye.
Don’t have certified glasses and won’t have time to buy them? There is a free and completely safe method: pinhole projection. Pierce a small hole in a sheet of paper, hold it with your back to the Sun and catch the image on a second sheet — you will see the crescent of the solar disk on the paper while looking at the screen the whole time, not at the sky. A tree’s shadow creates the same effect: gaps between the leaves cast hundreds of tiny crescents onto the pavement.
Where should you stand? You need an unobstructed view to the west
This is the most important practical tip of the entire evening: in many places, the Sun will set before the eclipse officially ends. A view from a courtyard between apartment blocks will not be enough. Look for a hill, an open field, a seashore or lakeshore, or a high floor with a west-facing window. The lower the horizon line you can see, the longer the observation will last.
It is worth checking your observation spot in advance, during the day. It is difficult to tell from a map whether the view to the west ends at a wall of trees or the roof of a neighboring building, and there will be no time to relocate in the evening. The simplest option is to stand there a day earlier at the same time and check whether you can see the setting Sun from that location. Also bring something to sit on and a flashlight — it gets dark faster after sunset than you might expect.
If clouds obscure the sunset, there is no point racing from one city to another. Online broadcasts from places where the eclipse will be total are an option, along with a little luck — a break in the clouds low over the horizon, because that is where the whole event will unfold.
The Perseid maximum on the same night
The calendar has arranged the evening and night as a package deal. The Perseid meteor shower peaks during the night of August 12–13, so after sunset all you need to do is stay where you are, spread a blanket on the grass and wait for the sky to become properly dark. Under favorable conditions, people even talk about around 100 events per hour — but that is a theoretical figure calculated for a perfectly dark sky, not a promise to observers under an urban streetlamp. The farther you are from artificial lights and the longer your eyes have to adjust to the darkness, the more worthwhile it is to wait.
For an August trip outside the city
An evening with an eclipse and a night with the Perseids is the most summery plan of the month — and it calls for jewelry that is light, warm in color and able to withstand a blanket spread out on the grass. Sunny citrine and honey-brown tiger’s eye look their best in the August light — 10% off with the code BRAZIBLOG10.
Update after the peak: the shower remains active roughly until August 24 — activity decreases each night, but under a dark sky you can still catch individual “shooting stars.” The best time to look is after midnight, away from city lights; the thin crescent Moon after new moon sets early and does not interfere with observation.
What people used to say about eclipses
Before the Moon’s movement could be calculated years in advance, the Sun disappearing in the middle of the day understandably caused alarm. People once believed that a celestial animal or demon was devouring the solar disk and tried to drive it away with noise; in many traditions, an eclipse was interpreted as a sign of change. Today it is simply geometry that can be predicted to the minute — while the stories remain as an intriguing record of the fear people once felt toward the sky.
Astrological tradition adds its own thread to the August sky: it is Leo season, a sign associated with stones of a sunny nature — pyrite, citrine and tiger’s eye. We treat this solely as a belief, not as physics; no stone affects the Moon’s motion or anyone’s affairs. If you enjoy following such associations, we have written separately about which stone tradition associates with Leo, and you can find the full overview in our guide to stones for the zodiac signs.
Evenings like this do not happen often: the last total solar eclipse visible from continental Europe occurred on August 11, 1999. Tomorrow’s eclipse will be partial here, but more than 85% coverage of the solar disk over western Poland is truly worth leaving the house for. Check the time for your city in the table, find a spot with a view to the west, and bring certified glasses or an ordinary sheet of paper with a pinhole. Then stay on the grass a little longer — the sky has a second act planned for the night.