Can A Solar Eclipse Be Created By A Building? 

On Wednesday, the UK will be treated to a partial solar eclipse. But can a building create the same effect? 

On Wednesday the 12th of August, 2026, there will be a partial solar eclipse, visible from the United Kingdom, alongside much of Europe. Greenland, Iceland and Northern Spain, meanwhile, will experience a full solar eclipse. 

For those who want to enjoy the event, where the moon passes in front of the sun and blocks all of its light, you must wear suitable protection for your eyes. 

While natural solar eclipses might be pretty rare, you might be surprised to know that some man-made solar eclipses have also occurred over the years. In fact, some constructions have been deliberately designed to replicate the event.  

Proba-3 mission

While not a building on Earth, the Proba-3 mission is one of the best examples of a solar eclipse being constructed by man. Launched by the European Space Agency, two driverless spacecraft were positioned to perfectly align with the sun. 

The craft, known as the Coronagraph and the Occulter, acted as an artificial moon. Shockingly, the plan worked, and something that had been built by human hands had suddenly achieved the seemingly impossible. Weighing no more than 550kg between them and taking almost 10 years to construct, the spacecraft ultimately cost €200 million, with over 40 companies coming together to complete the project. 

Louvre Abu Dhabi

While the construction experts needed for the Proba-3 mission might have been space specialists, a rather modern building on the ground has created a similar effect. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is an art museum located on Saadiyat Island, which took 8 years to build.

The building is constructed of 7,850 star-shaped metal panels that are layered on top of one another in a complex pattern. Holes in the roof allow shards of light to break through. However, as the sun positions itself above the circular museum, from the inside it would appear as if there is a solar eclipse, except for a few breaks in the pattern.

Who knows what will be built next? While there are plenty of buildings that are tall enough to partially block out the sun from certain angles, perhaps another design will break new ground and replicate a solar eclipse much more accurately very soon. But, the answer is yes: a specialist building can create a solar eclipse!