Three Things at Once

August 2026 held three events in the sky within two days. A total solar eclipse on August 12. The Perseid meteor shower peaking that night into the morning of August 13. And six planets strung across the dawn sky around the same dates. One more is still ahead: the partial lunar eclipse in Pisces on August 28.

this is the record of what happened, and what is still to come.

Still ahead: the lunar eclipse, August 28

A partial lunar eclipse falls at 4 degrees Pisces on August 28, with maximum eclipse at 04:13 UTC and over ninety per cent of the moon in shadow. It is visible across Africa, Europe, Iceland, most of the Americas and the eastern Pacific.

Unlike a solar eclipse, this one is completely safe to look at with bare eyes. No filters, no glasses. We wrote about what it is asking in the lunar eclipse in Pisces.

What happened on August 12

Greatest eclipse fell at 17:47 UTC. The path of totality crossed a remote stretch of Siberian Russia, eastern Greenland, the west coast of Iceland and then northern Spain, clipping a corner of Portugal. Totality lasted a maximum of two minutes and eighteen seconds.

Bilbao, Burgos, Santander, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Valencia and Palma sat inside the band, and in Spain it happened late, close to sunset. Much of the northern hemisphere saw a partial eclipse instead.

On safety, for next time. A solar eclipse requires certified eclipse glasses, not sunglasses, not a phone screen, not smoked glass. Looking at a partial eclipse without them burns the retina permanently, and because the retina has no pain receptors you do not feel it happening. The only moment it is safe to look with bare eyes is during full totality, and only from inside that narrow path.

The Perseids, and why this year was unusual

The Perseids run from July 17 through August 24, and peaked the night of August 12 into the morning of August 13, with maximum around 14:53 UTC on the 13th. They are still active as this is read, tapering toward the 24th.

Here is the part worth understanding, because it connects the two events. A solar eclipse can only happen at a new moon. A new moon means no moonlight. And no moonlight is precisely what you want for a meteor shower, because a bright moon washes most of them out.

So the same alignment that darkened the sun on the twelfth gave the Perseids the darkest possible sky that same night. Under genuinely dark conditions NASA puts the rate at up to a hundred meteors an hour. It was the best Perseid year in a long while.

If you are catching the tail of them before the 24th, go out between 2am and dawn. Give your eyes twenty minutes to adjust and do not check your phone, because one glance at a bright screen resets that adjustment completely.

The planet parade, and a correction

Six planets gathered in the morning sky around August 12: Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Two things were said about this online that were not accurate, and they are worth correcting because they will circulate again.

The first is that Venus was in this parade. It was not. The six are the ones listed above.

The second is that they were all visible to the naked eye. Only Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn were. Uranus and Neptune need binoculars or a telescope, and Neptune realistically needs a telescope and some patience.

The grouping loosens over the following weeks, but the brighter planets remain findable in the hour before sunrise, looking from the eastern horizon toward the southwest.

The astrology, briefly and honestly

The August 12 eclipse fell in Leo, the sign of visibility and self-expression, and was the first total solar eclipse in that sign since 2019. Read together with Jupiter alongside it, the usual interpretation is about what you have been performing versus what is actually true.

One thing worth being clear about, because the advice circulating was contradictory. Eclipses are not a good moment for setting intentions or manifesting. Traditional practice, and my own view, is that eclipses bring endings and new information rather than stable beginnings. We wrote about why in should you manifest during an eclipse, and the reflection practice for this window is in what to release.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Perseid meteor shower in 2026?

It ran July 17 through August 24 and peaked the night of August 12 into the morning of August 13, 2026, with maximum activity around 14:53 UTC on the 13th. The best viewing was between 2am and dawn.

Why were the Perseids especially good in 2026?

Because the peak coincided with a new moon, so there was no moonlight washing out the fainter meteors. Under dark skies NASA puts the rate at up to a hundred meteors per hour.

Which planets were in the August 2026 planet parade?

Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, in the morning sky around August 12. Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn were visible to the naked eye. Uranus and Neptune needed binoculars or a telescope. Venus was not part of this alignment.

When is the next eclipse after August 12, 2026?

A partial lunar eclipse at 4 degrees Pisces on August 28, 2026, with maximum eclipse at 04:13 UTC. It closes this eclipse season.

Where was the August 12, 2026 solar eclipse visible?

Totality crossed Siberian Russia, eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain, with a small part of Portugal. Much of the rest of the northern hemisphere saw a partial eclipse.

Is it safe to look at a lunar eclipse?

Yes. Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is entirely safe with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. No protective filters are needed.

Three things in two days, and one still to come. Only the last of them asks anything of you, and even then only that you notice.

With love from Bali,
Myrah