Total solar eclipse crosses Spain and northern Europe on Aug 12, 2024

A total solar eclipse will occur on 12 August 2024, marking the first time the phenomenon is visible from continental Spain since 1905. The path of totality will sweep across parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain and northeastern Portugal, where the Sun will be completely obscured for up to two minutes in Greenland and as little as 20 seconds in northern Spain, weather permitting.

A partial eclipse will be observable across much of Europe, Africa and North America. NASA and the European Space Agency note that the eclipse offers scientists a chance to study the Sun’s corona and to repeat the historic 1919 experiment that confirmed Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Carole Mundell, ESA’s director of science, said, “The total solar eclipse is one of those rare moments… it connects us with the universe.”

The event will be livestreamed from the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory in Teruel, Spain. The next total solar eclipse after this will occur on 2 August 2027, visible from southern Spain, North Africa, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, while the United States will not see another total eclipse until 2033 in Alaska.