Overview
- The rare eclipse occurred on Wednesday, August 12, with a narrow path of totality crossing parts of northern Spain, a corner of northeastern Portugal and portions of Iceland while much of Europe including the UK experienced a very deep partial eclipse.
- Totality lasted longest near Iceland and Greenland at about two minutes and was roughly one minute 40 seconds in northern Spain, where daytime briefly fell into eerie darkness and crowds cheered at the corona’s appearance.
- Spanish authorities mobilised a large security operation, with Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska reporting nearly 25,000 police deployed as hotels, rural viewing sites and beaches filled with residents and tourists.
- Agencies including ESA and NASA livestreamed the event and scientists used aircraft, high-altitude balloons and ground observatories to study the Sun’s outer atmosphere while health officials repeatedly warned people to use ISO 12312-2 certified viewers or indirect methods to avoid eye damage.
- Officials will now track scientific data releases, formal tourism and economic tallies and any eye-injury reports, and skywatchers are already looking ahead to the next related total eclipse on August 2, 2027.