Spain's 'Galactic Shepherd' readies homemade observatory for total eclipse

Retired shepherd Joaquin Tapioles, 67, has built a rotating‑dome observatory in the small farming village of San Agustín del Pozo, Spain, to watch the total solar eclipse on 12 August. The eclipse, the first visible from the Iberian Peninsula since 1912, is expected to attract skywatchers from across Spain and abroad. Tapioles, nicknamed the “Galactic Shepherd”, operates the telescope he designed himself, using a video‑game controller to track the Sun. He said he will watch the event with his family rather than focusing on visitors, noting that “if people come to the observatory, I’ll be more focused on making sure they see it than on watching it myself”. The amateur astronomer previously contributed observations to NASA’s Deep Impact mission to comet Tempel 1, earning recognition from the U.S. space agency. Spain will experience another total eclipse on 2 August 2025 and an annular eclipse in January 2028, completing the so‑called “Iberian Eclipse Trio”.