// WIRED US/UK — SPAZIO & SCIENZA
The Best Photos of the Big August Solar Eclipse
For the first time in more than a century, Spain witnessed a total solar eclipse. The astronomical phenomenon, which was also partially visible in some regions of northern North America, much of Europe, and western Africa, offered an unusual and particularly photogenic sight due to the sun’s position just above the horizon.
The solar corona glows as the moon completely obscures the sun during the total solar eclipse on Arenal Beach in Llucmajor, Mallorca.
The path of totality traversed the northern hemisphere from west to east. Its path began in the Arctic Ocean, north of Greenland, continued west of Iceland, and crossed the North Atlantic. Later, at exactly 8:30 pm central European summer time, the shadow cast by the moon reached the Iberian Peninsula.
People gathered at El Cerro del Tío Pío Park in Madrid to observe the total solar eclipse.
Regions such as Galicia, Asturias, Castile and León, Madrid, Aragon, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, and the Balearic Islands experienced the path of totality, while the rest of the country saw a partial eclipse.
The solar corona glows as the moon completely blocks the sun during the totality phase, as seen from San Asensio in the La Rioja region.
The event lasted about four and a half hours, while the total darkening of the sky lasted just under two minutes, allowing various space agencies to conduct scientific experiments along the path of totality.
Fans of Real Madrid watch the solar eclipse through special glasses before the Teresa Herrera Trophy match between RC Deportivo A Coruña and Real Madrid at Riazor Stadium.
One of the most notable projects involved a NASA mission tracking the moon’s shadow using a WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft that flew at 50,000 feet. A team of scientists sought to gather new data on the dynamics of the solar corona—the sun’s outermost atmosphere—which can only be studied in detail during total eclipses.
The total solar eclipse as observed from Palencia, Spain.