NASA Says 23 States Will Miss the August 12 Solar Eclipse
Twenty-three states will see none of the solar eclipse on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. NASA says totality stays overseas, while only portions of the northern and eastern United States fall under the Moon’s lighter outer shadow. Even there, viewers will get a partial eclipse rather than the fully covered Sun seen along the path of totality.
The agency’s August 2026 skywatching guide places the total eclipse across northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain and a small part of Portugal. In the United States, the Moon will cover only part of the Sun, and the amount will vary substantially by location. Weather can eliminate the view even inside the projected eclipse zone.
Which states are in the partial-eclipse zone
The reported U.S. viewing area includes Alaska and portions of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, plus Washington, D.C.
That published list contains 26 states, although the accompanying count says portions of 27 states and Washington, D.C., may see at least some of the eclipse. Because the count and list do not reconcile, residents near the edge of the viewing zone should not treat inclusion of a state as confirmation for every city. Eclipse boundaries cut across states, and some locations on the margins may receive only minimal coverage.
The broad timing also is not a local schedule. The eclipse begins at about 11:34 a.m. Eastern Time and reaches its overall maximum at approximately 1:46 p.m. Eastern. Alaska encounters its partial phase earlier in the day, while observers across the northern contiguous United States, from Montana toward Maine, can expect their possible views around midday. The available timing does not establish when the eclipse starts, peaks or ends in any particular city.
Why the United States misses totality
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, casting a moving shadow onto Earth. NASA divides that shadow into two principal regions. The narrow, dark inner shadow is the umbra; an observer inside it sees the Sun completely blocked. The much broader and lighter penumbra produces a partial eclipse.
On Aug. 12, the umbra tracks across Arctic and North Atlantic regions before reaching parts of Europe. It never crosses the United States. Only the edge of the penumbra reaches portions of the country, which explains both the limited geographic coverage and the comparatively small amount of the Sun hidden in many U.S. locations. Anyone outside the penumbra sees no eclipse at all.
This geometry also explains why a state-level map can be misleading. The penumbra may touch only part of a state, and the apparent coverage changes with distance from the central shadow. Being listed in the viewing zone therefore does not mean the entire state shares the same view or that noticeable daytime darkness will occur.
Every U.S. view remains a partial eclipse
No location in the United States reaches the one phase in which the Sun is completely covered. NASA advises using certified eclipse glasses or a safe solar viewer whenever any part of the Sun remains visible; ordinary sunglasses are not adequate. Cameras, binoculars and telescopes require solar filters made for the front of their optics rather than eclipse glasses worn by the observer.
The practical dividing line is geographic: totality belongs to a narrow overseas corridor, while the United States receives only the outer edge of the event. For 23 states, even that edge never arrives.
By David Whitaker — Associate editor for AMI’s aerospace and drone systems desk, translating flight systems, aircraft programs, spaceflight, and UAV developments into accessible technical stories.
