Why the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse appears to move backward on maps

Maps of the August 12, 2026, total solar eclipse make the moon's shadow appear to travel east to west, from Siberia toward Greenland, which seems to contradict how eclipses normally work. This is actually an illusion caused by flat map projections distorting the shadow's true curved path over the North Pole. The eclipse genuinely travels west to east, but its far-northern route makes it look reversed on standard maps.