Saros cycle series 126 for solar eclipses occurs at the Moon's descending node, repeating every 18 years and 11 days, containing 72 eclipses, 41 of which are umbral. The first eclipse was on 10 March 1179 and the last will be on 3 May 2459, lasting 1,280 years. The most recent eclipse was a total eclipse on 1 August 2008 and the next will be a total eclipse on 12 August 2026.

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of the orbit on August 1, 2008. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. It had a magnitude of 1.0394 that was visible from a narrow corridor through northern Canada (Nunavut), Greenland, central Russia, eastern Kazakhstan, western Mongolia and China. Visible north of the Arctic Circle, it belonged to the so-called midnight sun eclipses. The largest city in its path was Novosibirsk in Russia. The eclipse happened only 2+1⁄2 days after the perigee that occurred on July 29, 2008, and the Moon's apparent diameter was larger than average.