Here's what to expect from 5 stages of the total solar eclipse 2026
2026 年日全食五大阶段观测指南
We're just a few short days away from the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse, when millions will watch as the moon glides across the face of the sun, hiding its light in a wondrous display of orbital mechanics.
距离8月12日的日全食仅剩短短数日。届时数百万民众将观测到月球缓缓划过太阳盘面，遮蔽日光，上演一场由天体轨道运动造就的奇妙天象。
The eclipse will unfold during August's new moon phase, as the lunar disk slips silently between the sun and Earth in the daytime sky. Ordinarily, the subtle tilt in the moon's orbit causes its shadow to pass just below, or above our planet, missing it entirely.
本次日食发生在八月朔月（新月）期间。白昼天空中，月轮悄然运行至太阳与地球之间。通常情况下，月球轨道存在微小倾角，月影会从地球的上方或下方掠过，完全不会扫到地球。
However, on Aug. 12, the moon's orbit will carry it into a near-perfect alignment with the sun and Earth, casting its colossal shadow across a 182-mile-wide corridor known as the path of totality, where viewers will get to see the lunar disk fully hide the sun's disk.
然而在 8 月 12 日，月球轨道将使其与太阳、地球达到近乎完美的三点一线，巨大的月影投射在一条 182 英里宽的带状区域，也就是全食带。身处该区域的观测者能够看到月轮完全遮蔽太阳圆面。
The path of totality for the Aug. 12 eclipse cuts through Spain, Iceland and Greenland. Hundreds of millions more watching from outside of this narrow corridor will also bear witness to a spectacular partial solar eclipse, as the moon passes in front of our parent star, without fully obscuring its surface. Those unable to watch the eclipse in person by dint of geography can also follow along online, with details of the livestream to be released closer to the event.
8月12日日全食的全食带贯穿西班牙、冰岛与格陵兰岛。在这条狭长地带之外，还有数亿人能够观赏壮观的日偏食：月球运行至太阳前方，但不会完全遮蔽太阳表面。受地理位置限制无法亲临观测的人群，也可以在线观看直播；直播相关详情将在日食临近时公布。
Read on to discover what will happen during each stage of the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse.
继续阅读，了解 8 月12 日日全食各个阶段会发生哪些天象。
The partial phase of the eclipse officially begins at the moment of "first contact", when the lunar disk takes its first nibble out of the sun — a subtle transformation that will first become visible in the skies over the U.S. state of Alaska at 11:34 a.m. EDT (1534 GMT) on Aug. 12.
日食的偏食阶段在初亏时刻正式开启。此时月轮开始一点点侵噬日面。8 月12日美国东部夏令时上午11:34（世界标准时间15:34），这一细微天象变化最先在美国阿拉斯加州上空出现。
You can check out exactly when the partial eclipse will begin from your location and find out exactly how much of the sun will be hidden by the moon using Time and Date's interactive eclipse tracker.
你可以从你的位置准确查看日偏食何时开始，并使用时间和日期的交互式日食跟踪器找出太阳会被月亮遮挡多少。
The hour and a half following first contact will see the moon sink ever farther into the sun's disk for those in the path of totality, transforming it from a burning orb into a magnificent shining crescent.
在初亏之后的一个半小时里，全食带内的观测者会看到月球持续侵入日轮，将耀眼的太阳圆面逐步变为一道壮丽明亮的月牙。
You may notice the temperature drop noticeably, accompanied by a subtle darkening of the sky in the half hour preceding the climactic phase of totality, as the moon reduces the sun to a thin sickle in the evening sky. Pinpricks of light — such as those that shine through a colander, or the gaps in a leaf — will also appear to mirror the scene above, creating a kaleidoscope of tiny bright crescents.
在全食这一高潮阶段到来前半小时，随着月球将太阳变成傍晚天空中一弯细镰，你会明显感觉到气温下降，天色也微微变暗。漏下的点点光斑——比如透过滤锅或是树叶缝隙形成的光斑 —— 会复刻天上的景象，形成无数细小明亮月牙交织而成的万花筒效果。
Remember, staring at the sun for even the briefest of moments can lead to permanent loss of vision, so be sure to read our guide on how to view the sun safely and to wear your eclipse glasses or sunoculars during the entirety of the partial phases of the eclipse. You can read our roundup of the best solar viewing equipment to find out more, along with our tips on how to check the quality and condition of your eclipse glasses.
切记，哪怕只是极短时间直视太阳，都可能造成永久性失明。因此请务必阅读我们的太阳安全观测指南，在整个偏食阶段全程佩戴日食观测镜或太阳观测眼镜。你可以查阅我们整理的优质太阳观测设备合集，了解更多信息，同时参考相关方法，检查日食观测镜的品质与完好程度。
Some of the most spectacular moments of an eclipse occur just before and after totality. First, look out for the "diamond ring" effect, as the last sliver of the sun peeks out from behind the lunar disk to appear as a gorgeous celestial jewel, while the outermost layer of our star's atmosphere, the corona, creates a glowing halo around the moon.
日食最震撼的景象出现在全食即将开始与刚刚结束的瞬间。首先留意钻石环效应：太阳的最后一丝光弧从月轮后方显露，宛若一枚瑰丽的天宇宝石；与此同时，太阳大气最外层的日冕会在月球周围形成一圈发光的光晕。
Tear your eyes away from the sun for just a second and you may just catch sight of the moon's shadow advancing on you from the west, before it engulfs your surroundings in a false night.
将视线从太阳上移开片刻，你或许能看见月球阴影自西方向你逼近，随后周遭万物会被阴影吞没，坠入宛如黑夜的白昼。
The final seconds before totality will see bright "Baily's Beads" form dazzling points of light on the moon's edge, where the last shreds of the sun's disk shine through the ravines and valleys that scar the ancient lunar surface.
全食开始前最后几秒，明亮的贝利珠会在月球边缘形成耀眼光点。太阳盘面最后的微光，透过古老月表沟壑与山谷的缝隙透出，造就这一景象。
As the last of the sun's surface slips behind the moon, totality begins. This is the climactic phase of the eclipse, when the moon acts like a natural coronagraph to block the brilliance of the sun's disk, ushering in a false night in which our star's outer atmosphere can be seen leaping out from the lunar silhouette.
当太阳最后的盘面隐入月球后方，全食阶段正式开启。这是日食的高潮阶段：月球如同天然的日冕仪，遮蔽耀眼的日轮，带来白昼假夜。此时能看见太阳外层大气从月球轮廓向外延展。
Totality will last a maximum of 2 minutes, 18 seconds, during which time it's safe to remove your glasses and look at the sun. Just be sure to put them on again before its fiery disk reemerges from the other side of the lunar disk.
全食阶段最长持续 2 分 18 秒。在此期间，可以摘下观测镜直视太阳。但务必在炽热的日轮从月轮另一侧重新显现之前，再次戴好观测镜。
That white halo surrounding Earth's natural satellite is the sun's corona — a jacket of superheated gas that surrounds our parent star. Look out for glowing solar prominences leaping outward through the sun's atmosphere, along with the red line of the chromosphere — the layer of the sun's atmosphere beneath the corona — which appears fleetingly at the beginning and end of totality, according to NASA.
环绕着地球天然卫星（月球）的白色光晕就是日冕，包裹着太阳的一层超高温气体。美国国家航空航天局介绍，观测者可以看到明亮的日珥穿过太阳大气向外喷涌，还能看见色球层的红色光带；色球层是位于日冕下方的太阳大气圈层，只会在全食开始和结束的瞬间短暂显现。
The point of maximum eclipse occurs roughly halfway through totality, when the sun's disk is most hidden by the moon.
食甚发生在全食阶段大约中点时刻，此时日轮被月球遮蔽的程度达到最大。
Eagle-eyed skywatchers may catch Jupiter and Mercury shining to the lower right of the eclipsed sun in the faux twilight experienced during totality, while Venus will appear as a bright star-like object to its upper left. If you're incredibly lucky, you could even spot one of the brightest shooting stars or fireballs of the Perseid meteor shower, which comes to a peak around the same time as the Aug. 12 total eclipse.
眼力敏锐的观测者，能在全食期间这仿如薄暮的天光里，看见木星与水星在被遮蔽太阳的右下方闪耀；金星则会化作明亮星点，出现在太阳左上方。运气极佳的话，你甚至有望看到英仙座流星雨的明亮流星或火流星。这场流星雨的极大期恰好与 8 月 12 日日全食时间重合。
The fourth stage of the eclipse comes as the very edge of the sun's disk emerges from behind the moon, marking the end of totality as Bail's Beads and the diamond ring effect play out in reverse, before giving way to an ever-thickening solar crescent.
日食进入第四个阶段：日轮边缘开始从月球后方显露，标志着全食阶段结束。贝利珠与钻石环效应反向重现，之后太阳月牙会持续变粗。
The waning partial eclipse will come to a global end at 3:57 p.m. EDT (1957 GMT), as the moon's silhouette exits the sun's disk in the skies off the west coast of Africa — a moment known to astronomers as fourth contact.
随着月球轮廓在非洲西海岸上空离开日轮，渐弱的日偏食将在美东夏令时下午 3 点 57 分（世界时 19 点 57 分）迎来全球终点。天文学家把这一刻称为复圆。
Space.com is on hand to provide expert coverage and on the ground reporting as the eclipse unfolds. Skywatching Editor Daisy Dobrijevic is undertaking an expedition with HX to observe the total solar eclipse from the waters around Greenland, while Skywatching Writer Anthony Wood heads to Spain in a cowboy hat, to catch the orbital showdown with citizen scientists from NASA's Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative.
日食发生期间，Space.com网站将带来专业报道与现场实况。天象栏目主编黛西・多布里耶维奇将与 HX 团队一同前往格陵兰周边海域开展观测远征，记录本次日全食；天象专栏作家安东尼・伍德则会头戴牛仔帽奔赴西班牙，与美国国家航空航天局 “动态日食直播项目” 的民间科学家一同见证这场天体的相遇。
Be sure to check out our total eclipse live blog to stay up to date with all the latest news, along with our handy explainer article detailing everything you need to know about the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse.
欢迎关注我们的日全食实时直播博客，获取全部最新资讯；同时可阅读我们简明易懂的科普文章，里面详尽涵盖8月12日日全食的各类必备知识。
If photography is your thing then why not read our guide to imaging the total solar eclipse, along with our roundup of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography? You'll also want to peruse our picks for the best eclipse glasses and viewing gear available in 2026.
如果你喜爱摄影，不妨阅读我们的日全食拍摄指南，以及天文摄影优选相机与镜头汇总。你还可以浏览我们整理的2026年优质日食观测镜和观测设备推荐清单。
Editor's Note: If you capture footage of the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse and want to share it with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
编者注：如果你拍摄到8月12日日全食影像，并希望分享给Space.com的读者，请将照片、文字说明、姓名以及拍摄地点发送至邮箱spacephotos@space.com。
