With the peak of the eclipse, movement in the streets and public squares was paralyzed, and citizens and tourists gathered, raising protective glasses and observation glasses towards the sky to follow the rare astronomical phenomenon. Temperatures and light levels dropped significantly and quickly, revealing the bright sun’s corona around the dark disk of the moon, amid cheers and warm applause from the gathered crowds.
The Spanish town of Medinaceli was transformed into a natural amphitheater that welcomed thousands of visitors, scientists, and amateurs who arrived hours earlier carrying cameras and telescopes, in addition to special tourist trips from the United States, Japan, and European countries to have an exceptional opportunity to witness this event.
The path of the total eclipse traced a strip across the Atlantic, heading from Greenland and Iceland towards northern, central and eastern Spain, ending near the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. While the proportions of the partial eclipse witnessed by large areas of the European continent and North Africa varied.
A number of major Spanish cities, such as Bilbao, Burgos, Leon, Zaragoza, and Valencia, were immersed in complete darkness that ranged from a few seconds to two minutes, while the two capitals, Madrid and Barcelona, fell out of total darkness by a very small margin despite covering more than 99% of the sun’s disk in them. In Portugal, the “Montesinho” region in the far north-east had the only opportunity in the country to witness the total eclipse for a short period.
This astronomical event is the beginning of a rare series known as the “Iberian Eclipse Trilogy,” as Spain is expected to witness another total eclipse in August 2027, followed by an annular eclipse in January 2028.
