Pull up a map of the August 12 total solar eclipse, and something will immediately look off. Every total solar eclipse moves west to east, no exceptions. On August 12, a total solar eclipse will sweep across Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and a slice of Portugal, turning day into nightThe first total solar eclipse over mainland Europe since 1999 pic.twitter.com/AYEzazmlWd — Latest in space (@latestinspace) August 3, 2026Why This Month’s Total Solar Eclipse Looks So Strange on MapsNASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio explained the geometry. For mainland Europe, this is the first total solar eclipse since 1999. The post Why the August 12 Solar Eclipse Looks Like It’s Moving Backward on Maps appeared first on VICE.