High-Resolution True Color Earth Imagery Simulated by GEOS During the 2026 Total Solar Eclipse

On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, the Moon passes in front of the Sun, casting its shadow across a wide swath of Earth's Northern Hemisphere. The path of totality begins in far northern Siberia near the North Pole, and travels south through the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans, passing over Iceland and Spain. Meanwhile, the rest of Europe and parts of North America and Africa experience a partial eclipse.

To anticipate viewing conditions for this event, this visualization presents a high-resolution, model-simulated view of Earth spanning the period of August 9–13, 2026, using the GEOS-CAM model. GEOS-CAM simulates multiple bands of incoming and outgoing shortwave radiation, analogous to the observational data collected by GOES satellites. By applying the GOES true color (GeoColor) algorithm to these model-generated fields, this visualization derives a realistic representation of how the Earth will appear from space. Crucially, the simulation incorporates the atmospheric impacts of aerosols such as dust and smoke, making the resulting imagery a valuable tool for inferring localized visibility conditions along the path of totality.

For more detailed information about the eclipse, visit: Map of the August 12, 2026, Total Solar Eclipse