The Moon joins the Sun on the afternoon of August 12th, 2026, as Lunation 1282 starts with a solar eclipse. The line of totality extends from northeastern Greenland, skirts western Iceland, southward through the North Atlantic, and ending in northern Spain.
While the best show is on the opposite side of the ocean from us, New England gets to see a partial eclipse on a Wednesday afternoon. There is no safe time to look directly at the Sun, so this eclipse is best viewed by means of a simple pinhole projector. Any opaque material with a small, clean hole (about 2-5cm, or ⅛-¼ inch) punched through it will project a distinct image of the Sun on any smooth surface.
Over Rhode Island, the partial eclipse begins at 1:03pm, and reaches maximum at 1:55pm, with 24.7% of the diameter of the Sun and 14.4% of the area of the solar disk occluded by the Moon. Even if the skies are 100% clear, this will not be enough obscuration to give any indication that it is not an ordinary sunny day; the sky will not appear any dimmer, and only the shadow projects should give any indication that there is a partial eclipse in progress.
The eclipse ends at 2:45pm.
Following August 12th, the next solar eclipse experienced here in Rhode Island will be on January 26, 2028, when just 3% of the Sun will be obscured.
How to safely view a solar eclipse
Indirect Solar Viewing: Pinhole & Optical Projection
https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/projection
How to Make a Box Pinhole Projector
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14391/