Spanish astronomy associations, museums and planetariums are getting ready to observe an annular solar eclipse which will take place on 3rd October. It will be the first time in 241 years that an annular solar eclipse has been visible from Spain. (Update 3rd October p.m: See video of the solar eclipse in Spain)
An annular eclipse is one in which the moon covers all but a bright ring around the circumference of the sun so that only a thin outer disk of the sun can be seen.
The eclipse will be visible from Galicia in north-west Spain down to Alicante in the south-east. After this one, the next eclipse over Spain won’t take place unti 2026.
The planetarium in Madrid plans to organize a «safe» watch from the Retiro Park in Madrid where a big screen will be set up showing images taken by the planetarium’s main telescope. Observers who turn up at the park will be given special glasses with which to observe the eclipse (sunglasses are not sufficient) and an expert will talk them through the process and tell them when it is safe to look up at the eclipse.
The moon eclipse is expected to begin at 9.40 and finish at 12.24 on Monday 3rd October.
Hello! I live just outside Alicante. Most schools have prepared watches in the school playgrounds and teenage kids have been given special glasses by the school authorities. The little ones are watching it on television. But…. it’s the first cloudy day in Alicante for weeks, and although it is getting darker and darker, you can’t see the eclipse properly because of a big fat grey cloud which is passing over the Sun!!!! Sigh. Such is life.
hi…watched it from torrox, malaga…..cloud here too…but i was surprised to see it cover all of the sun….i thought that was more eastwards….great fun…
Hello! I watched it in San Sebastian. Only partial up here, but still AMAZING!. And what’s more, wonderfully clear blue skies today!!! Which is quite rare at this time of year.
Never mind anonymous from Alicante. You should get away from the Med and come and live up north 😉
We watched it with all our staff in from the garden of our restaurant, near Valencia. Cloudless sky…… wonderful…. unforgettable.
I watched it in Salamanca and it was eerily clear. I hadn't heard anything about it and thought that maybe the world was ending. I could really underdstand how it must have affected primitive peoples. I wasn't wearing any opitcal protection that day but I wasn't staring at it. It was a special day in my life.