The solar eclipse of August 12 It’s going to be special for many reasons.. And it will not be the only astronomical phenomenon that also we can enjoy that day. It will come accompanied by the peak of the perseids and, as a tip, a great planetary alignment. The latter will occur at dawn, the morning of the eclipse, although in part it will also be seen in the early morning of the 13th. So, we can see aligned in the sky the planets Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. It is true that not all of them will be seen with the naked eye, but those who have transported their telescopes and binoculars to see the eclipse can continue to pay for themselves with this other cosmic spectacle.
From west to east. The solar eclipse will take place very close to sunset. In fact, at some points the Sun will still be eclipsed. Therefore, to see we will have to find a place to the westwhere the king star will be observed very close to the horizon. On the other hand, to see the planetary alignment the next morning we will have to look to the east, since the planets will appear right where the Sun rises.
Not all at first glance. Mars, Saturn and Mercury are the planets that will be best seen with the naked eye. Jupiter will be very bright, but being so low on the horizon, the light from the Sun will make visibility difficult. As for Neptune and Uranus, we will need at least some binoculars to see them. In fact, the least visible is Neptune. With that we would need to get a telescope. The good thing is that, on the occasion of the solar eclipse, there will be many sky observation activities with telescopes and we may have someone nearby who can let us look through theirs.
In any case, it should be noted that it is not exactly a straight line. The planets will be seen very close together in the sky, something that does not usually happen, since normally when some are seen, others are hidden. But, despite being known as alignment, they do not exactly draw a straight line. It is best to use applications like Stellarium to know where you should look.
Neptune and Uranus are in the alignment, but will not be seen with the naked eye.
And what about the Perseids? The peak of the Perseids will also be seen on the night of August 12. But only on the actual night. In the two minutes of absolute darkness that totality will leave us, there will not be enough time for our eyes to adapt to being able to see a shooting star. That’s in case we were really lucky enough for one to happen at that time. However, during the early morning we can continue with the post-eclipse hangover by watching Perseids. Many towns, like Borobia, in Soriahave activities organized around the solar eclipse that also include the observation of this meteor shower.
End of holidays. If we have the energy to spend the entire night watching Perseids, the perfect finishing touch may be the final blow of the planetary alignment. Of course, August 12, 2026 is an ideal date to mark on the calendar of astro-amateurs. Besides, who knows? Even those who have never experienced that attraction to astronomy may feel the call of the sky on this special day.
Image | Illustrative image from Maginific
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