Cuban Meteorologist José Rubiera Explains the "Astronomical Event of the Year" Arriving This Week

August 12, 2026

Cuba's best-known meteorologist, Dr. José Rubiera, has been fielding questions this week about a rare convergence of astronomical events unfolding on the nights of August 12 and 13, 2026. In comments to the Cuban press, Rubiera described the alignment as "the astronomical event of the year," even though the marquee event, a total solar eclipse, will not be visible from the island.

That eclipse will cross the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain, but Cubans on the ground will instead be able to enjoy two more accessible spectacles. The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak overnight between August 12 and 13, and this year's new moon means dark skies ideal for viewing; under good conditions, observers could see between 50 and 100 meteors per hour, with the best window between 4 and 6 a.m. on August 13. At dawn that same day, six planets, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, will be simultaneously above the horizon, though Uranus requires binoculars and Neptune a telescope to spot.

Rubiera, who has delivered Cuba's daily weather forecasts on television and radio since 1981, used the moment to underline eclipse safety for Cubans traveling or watching online broadcasts, stressing that only glasses certified to the ISO 12312-2 standard offer adequate eye protection and dismissing the popular myth that exposed X-ray film is a safe substitute. He also recalled his own experience observing the 2017 total eclipse in Tennessee, noting that Cuba itself will not see another total solar eclipse until June 13, 2132.

Now in his sixth decade on Cuban airwaves, Rubiera remains one of the island's most trusted public figures, a scientist whose calm, plainspoken explanations of hurricanes and celestial events have made him a household name across generations.