See the 2026 European Solar Eclipse, in Photos and Videos

People gathered across the continent to watch the total solar eclipse on Wednesday.

The top 3

  1. The Longest Total Solar Eclipse Ever Recorded: The longest total solar eclipse of recent date occurred on June 20, 1955, lasting 7 minutes and 8 seconds, west of the Philippines; however, the maximum possible duration is 7 minutes and 31 seconds. An even longer eclipse, predicted for July 16, 2186, in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, is expected to last 7 minutes and 29 seconds.
  2. The Rarest Types of Solar Eclipses and Their Frequency: Hybrid solar eclipses, which transition between annular and total along their path, are the rarest type, occurring in less than 5% of all solar eclipses and roughly once per decade or every 200 years on average.
  3. Solar Eclipses with the Widest Global Audience: While precise global viewership numbers are hard to quantify, the 2026 European solar eclipse is notable for its visibility across populated regions, with about 230 million people in Europe experiencing at least 90% totality. The 2017 total solar eclipse across the United States also garnered massive attention due to its path over a highly populated country.

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