An Astronomy Picture of the Day entry dated 2026 August 17 featured an image of a total solar eclipse observed from Benavente, Spain, during the eclipse of 2026 August 12. The explanation said totality observers in Spain saw a corona that appeared unusually golden rather than the usual pearly white.

According to the entry, the low setting Sun meant its light passed through a large amount of air, scattering blue light. It added that unusually abundant smoke from nearby forest fires acted as a second filter, further scattering blue tones and deepening the gold-dominated light. The image was described as HDR-processed and made from multiple exposures captured the previous week.

The explanation noted that a hydrogen-glowing prominence over the Sun's left edge retained its original bright pink color rather than appearing golden. The image was credited to Rui Santos, with Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti and Keighley Rockcliffe listed as authors and editors.