Spain launches coordinated telescope network for Iberian solar eclipses

Spain, together with Morocco and the United States, will deploy a network of telescopes to study the solar corona during the upcoming series of Iberian solar eclipses. The initiative, called the NATE project and led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, will conduct its first rehearsal on 12 August in Palencia’s Cerro del Otero area. The test will calibrate instruments and develop observation routines, although the brief, low‑horizon eclipse is not expected to yield major scientific data.

The collaboration involves the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic in Morocco, the National Solar Observatory in the United States, and several Spanish research institutions, aiming to operate up to ten coordinated telescopes for future eclipses, notably the 2027 event that will be visible for more than four minutes across southern Spain and northern Africa. The effort also builds on previous U.S. Citizen CATE eclipse experiments from 2017 and 2024, which gathered unprecedented data on solar magnetic fields and plasma.

The project seeks to generate new insights into the dynamics of solar magnetic fields and plasma, produce unique eclipse imagery, and involve students, teachers, engineers and the public across the three nations.