There are nights when the sky seems infinite and indifferent, and there are rare moments when it appears to lean closer to us, reminding us that the islands beneath it belong not only to the Atlantic but to a much larger celestial geography. August will bring two such moments to the Azores: a partial eclipse of the Sun on the afternoon of the 12th, followed by a deep partial eclipse of the Moon in the early hours of the 28th. Separated by little more than two weeks, the two events will offer the archipelago a remarkable double encounter with shadow—first the Moon passing before the Sun, then the Earth itself casting darkness across the lunar surface.
The first eclipse, on Wednesday, August 12, will be total elsewhere in the world but only partial in the Azores. The path of totality—the narrow corridor where the Moon will completely cover the Sun—will cross northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, the North Atlantic, Spain, and a small area of Montesinho Natural Park in northeastern Portugal. The islands will remain outside that central shadow, yet the spectacle will still be dramatic. Across the archipelago, roughly three quarters of the visible solar disk will disappear behind the Moon at the height of the event, briefly changing the character of the late-afternoon light without bringing the complete darkness experienced along the path of totality.
In Ponta Delgada, the eclipse is expected to begin at approximately 5:37 p.m. local Azores time, reach its maximum at 6:38 p.m., and end around 7:34 p.m., with about 76.8 percent of the apparent solar disk obscured. In Angra do Heroísmo, it should begin at 5:34 p.m., peak at 6:36 p.m., and conclude at 7:33 p.m., with maximum obscuration of approximately 76.4 percent. In Horta, the timing will be almost identical, although the maximum coverage will be slightly lower, at about 74.4 percent. Across the islands as a whole, the phenomenon will unfold roughly between 5:30 and 7:35 p.m., while estimates from the Porto Planetarium place maximum obscuration between approximately 72.5 and 77.6 percent depending on location.
It will be one of those peculiar astronomical afternoons when the familiar Sun becomes suddenly unfamiliar—not absent, but wounded by shadow. The light may appear subtly altered, the surrounding landscape may take on an unusual tone, and the instinct to look upward will be irresistible. Yet this is precisely where wonder must be accompanied by discipline. Because the eclipse will remain partial everywhere in the Azores, there will be no moment when it is safe to look directly at the Sun without proper protection. Ordinary sunglasses are not sufficient. Safe observation requires certified eclipse glasses compliant with the ISO 12312-2 standard or an indirect projection method. Telescopes, binoculars, and cameras must be equipped with solar filters placed in front of their lenses. Curiosity, on this occasion, must never outrun caution.
On Santa Maria, that curiosity will be given a communal setting. The Expolab – Centro Ciência Viva dos Açores and the Portuguese Space Agency will host a public observing session in Vila do Porto beginning at 4:30 p.m. Admission will be free, and appropriate eclipse glasses will be distributed to participants. It is a fitting initiative for an island increasingly associated with Portugal’s ambitions in space science: a local gathering beneath a global event, where astronomy becomes not an abstraction but a shared experience of looking carefully, together, toward the same sky.
Then, in the stillness before dawn on Friday, August 28, the roles of light and shadow will reverse. This time the Earth will stand between the Sun and the full Moon, casting its own shadow across the lunar surface. The eclipse will begin subtly, with the Moon entering the faint outer penumbral shadow at approximately 1:24 a.m. Azores time. That first dimming may be difficult to perceive. The more dramatic partial phase will begin at about 2:34 a.m., when the Moon starts to enter the darker umbra. Maximum eclipse will occur around 4:13 a.m., and the partial phase will end near 5:52 a.m., while the penumbral phase will continue until approximately 7:02 a.m.
This will be a particularly deep partial lunar eclipse. At maximum, the umbral magnitude will reach 0.9299, meaning that about 93 percent of the Moon’s diameter will lie within the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow. It will stop just short of totality, leaving a thin portion of the lunar disk outside the umbra. The partial phase alone will last approximately three hours and eighteen minutes, giving those willing to trade sleep for wonder a long and slowly changing celestial spectacle.
Unlike the solar eclipse, the lunar event will require no protective equipment. It may be observed safely with the naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope. The only uncertainty will come, as it so often does in the Azores, from the weather. Clouds may decide whether the islands witness the full performance or merely sense that something extraordinary is taking place beyond them.
There is something deeply appropriate about eclipses being seen from an archipelago. Islands teach us to understand distance, horizon, and interruption. They exist because land rises where sea otherwise dominates; eclipses occur because one celestial body briefly enters the path of another. In both cases, absence creates form. The island is defined by the ocean around it. The eclipse is defined by the light momentarily withheld.
For a few hours this August, the Azores will be invited to look upward and remember that their famous Atlantic centrality extends beyond navigation, migration, or geopolitics. The islands also inhabit a cosmic crossroads, turning beneath the same Sun and Moon that have marked human calendars, myths, voyages, and imaginations since the beginning of memory.
On August 12, daylight will lose part of itself.
On August 28, the Moon will nearly disappear into the shadow of the Earth.
And between those two moments, the archipelago will once again discover how extraordinary it can be simply to stand still beneath the sky.
Based on a story in Diário dos Açores-Paulo Viveiros, director.