On Wednesday, August 12, astronomy enthusiasts across Poland and beyond will witness a rare celestial double feature featuring a partial solar eclipse and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. <\/p>\n
Next Wednesday, August 12, will bring two astronomical attractions. One will be a solar eclipse, and the other the maximum of the Perseid meteor shower. The total eclipse can be viewed from Spain and Iceland, while Poland has planned partial eclipse viewings and astronomical picnics.<\/p>\n
The astronomical phenomenon of the year is the solar eclipse, which will be visible as a partial eclipse in Poland. The maximum phase in our country will reach 88 percent in the K\u0142odzko Valley, and a maximum of 85 percent in the Masuria region.<\/p>\n
During the phenomenon, the Sun will be quite low above the horizon, as the eclipse will begin before sunset, while the eclipse will end after the Sun sets below the horizon. In Poland, east of the Olsztyn-\u0141\u00f3d\u017a-Opole line, the maximum phase will occur after the setting of our daylight star. The worst situation will be in the Bieszczady mountains, where only 42 percent of the obscured disc will be visible.<\/p>\n
In our country, the partial eclipse will begin, depending on the location, between approximately 7:10 PM and 7:20 PM. The Sun will set between approximately 8:00 PM (in Rzesz\u00f3w) and 8:30 PM (in Szczecin).<\/p>\n
Eclipse moments for selected cities are provided according to the “Astronomical Almanac for 2026” published by the Polish Astronomical Society (PTA). Listed sequentially as beginning, maximum phase, and end of the eclipse: Bia\u0142ystok \u2013 19.13, no maximum, 20.01; Gda\u0144sk \u2013 19.11, 20.05, 20.23; Krak\u00f3w \u2013 19.18, no maximum, 20.04; \u0141\u00f3d\u017a \u2013 19.16, 20.08, 20.12; Pozna\u0144 \u2013 19.15, 20.10, 20.24; Szczecin \u2013 19.14, 20.08, 20.36; Warszawa \u2013 19.15, 20.07, 20.07; Wroc\u0142aw \u2013 19.17, 20.12, 20.19. The maximum phase in parentheses indicates the phase at the moment of sunset if the Sun set before the maximum phase: Bia\u0142ystok \u2013 (0.792), Gda\u0144sk \u2013 0.855, Krak\u00f3w \u2013 (0.711), \u0141\u00f3d\u017a \u2013 (0.866), Pozna\u0144 \u2013 0.867, Szczecin \u2013 0.867, Warszawa \u2013 0.861, Wroc\u0142aw \u2013 0.874.<\/p>\n
In Poland, we can enjoy the partial eclipse. The path of the total eclipse will run through Iceland and Spain, among other places.<\/p>\n
Viewing a total solar eclipse live offers incomparably greater emotion than a partial eclipse. However, those who decide to travel for the total eclipse will face logistical challenges.<\/p>\n
On the day of the eclipse, countries along the path of totality can expect large movements of people trying to reach the best observation points, resulting in traffic jams, particularly in Iceland and Mallorca (an island belonging to Spain along with neighboring ones). In Iceland, the path of totality will only cover the western edges of the island. Meanwhile, Mallorca will fall entirely within the path of totality, but faces a different problem: parts of the island are mountainous, and the total phase will be blocked by horizons, mountains, elevations, or buildings in many places, as the Sun will be only 2.5 degrees above the horizon during totality. Authorities announce police road blocks, particularly in mountainous regions, to ensure safety, evacuation capabilities, and access for emergency services. If crowds exceed limits in a given area, additional people will not be permitted to enter.<\/p>\n
In continental Spain, the total eclipse will be visible in the northeastern part. Here, attention must also be paid to the terrain at the observation site. An additional problem is ongoing forest and brush fires in Spain, as smoke may obscure the Sun or impair visibility depending on wind direction.<\/p>\n
How to observe the eclipse? We cannot see a partial eclipse with the naked eye because the solar disc remains too bright for our eyes despite the Moon covering part of it. To safely view the Sun, special solar eclipse glasses\u2014different from standard sunglasses\u2014should be used. They can be purchased online or at astronomical equipment stores as the cheapest safe observation method.<\/p>\n
Glasses will be useful during the partial eclipse phase. Only during the total eclipse phase can glasses be removed to look directly at the Sun hidden behind the Moon’s disc, after which glasses must be put back on once totality ends.<\/p>\n
The second safe method is projecting the telescope’s image onto a screen. The telescope is pointed at the Sun, and viewers look not into the eyepiece\u2014which would result in blindness\u2014but at a screen, such as paper or a wall, where the telescope projects the image of the Sun.<\/p>\n
A general rule states never to look at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope. Although specially constructed or equipped telescopes exist for viewing the Sun, it is best to do so under the supervision of experienced individuals at school and amateur observatories.<\/p>\n
For those wishing to follow the phenomenon virtually, internet broadcasts will be available across various social media platforms from both Poland and regions experiencing the total eclipse.<\/p>\n
Following the solar eclipse, observers can immediately transition to nighttime sky attractions featuring numerous “falling stars,” or Perseid meteors, visible in Poland and other mentioned countries. Protective glasses are not needed for meteors, which are visible across the entire sky unless blocked by significant obstructions like buildings or trees.<\/p>\n
A piece of good news for “falling star hunters” is that the Moon recently blocked the Sun and is currently in a new moon phase, meaning its light will not interfere with meteor spotting.<\/p>\n
Meteors are luminous phenomena in the atmosphere created when a rocky fragment from space, known as a meteoroid, travels through Earth’s atmosphere. Most meteoroids are destroyed, but sufficiently large ones can impact the ground, leaving behind meteorites.<\/p>\n
Meteors may appear randomly as sporadic meteors or in an organized manner known as meteor showers. Showers appear to radiate from a single area in the sky called the radiant and are usually associated with comets or asteroids whose fragmented debris stretches along the parent body’s orbit, which Earth crosses.<\/p>\n
The primary meteor shower visible during the night of August 12 to 13 is the Perseids, reaching up to 100 phenomena per hour at its peak. Observers should select the darkest possible locations away from streetlamps to see more meteors beyond just the brightest ones, noting that clouds prevent meteor visibility.<\/p>\n
Poland has scheduled solar eclipse viewings and astronomical picnics, often called “Falling Star Nights,” organized by planetariums, astronomical observatories, clubs, and amateur astronomy associations, with schedules available in local media and social media.<\/p>\n
Those who miss this year’s eclipse will have a second chance next year, as a total solar eclipse will occur on August 2, 2027, visible as partial in Poland with the Sun positioned much higher and totality lasting several times longer. The path of totality will cross Egypt, including the resort of Marsa Alam, for which hotels should be booked well in advance.<\/p>\n
A total solar eclipse visible from Poland’s territory, however, will not occur until the year 2135.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Wednesday, August 12, astronomy enthusiasts across Poland and beyond will witness a rare celestial double feature featuring a partial solar eclipse and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. Two Astronomical Phenomena in One Night Next Wednesday, August 12, will bring two astronomical attractions. One will be a solar eclipse, and the other the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-expat-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19587\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}