Millions of people gathered in Iceland and northern Spain to witness Western Europe’s first total solar eclipse in 27 years.
Spectators across Spain watched in wonder, some whipping off their protective glasses and rising to their feet in unison, as a rare total solar eclipse swept across the north of the country on Wednesday evening, plunging it into darkness.
Spain deployed a massive police contingent and set up special viewing spots across rural areas that offered the best views of the spectacle.
Millions of people gathered in Iceland and northern Spain to witness Western Europe’s first total solar eclipse in 27 years.
Throughout human history, eclipses have stirred amazement, fear and reverence, as they appear to momentarily halt the normal course of nature.
The shadow or “umbra” cast by the alignment of Sun and Moon creates a strange twilight during which temperatures drop, shadows appear at strange angles and some animals go to sleep.
But the phenomenon is fleeting, lasting just minutes, with the lunar shadow moving across the surface of the Earth at some 3,430 kilometres (2,130 miles) per hour, according to the Paris Observatory.
The moon partially covers the sun during a solar eclipse over mountains near the northern Spanish town of Reinosa, August 12, 2026. —ReutersThe “diamond ring” effect appears as the moon moves across the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from El Arenal beach in Mallorca, Spain, August 12, 2026. —ReutersPeople watch a partial solar eclipse through protective glasses from the Dune of Pilat in La Teste-de-Buch near Arcachon, France, August 12, 2026. —ReutersThe moon completely covers the sun during a solar eclipse near the northern Spanish town of Reinosa, August 12, 2026. —ReutersPeople react as they observe the total solar eclipse from the sea port of Tarragona, northeastern Spain, on August 12, 2026. —ReutersThe moon completely covers the sun during a solar eclipse near the northern Spanish town of Reinosa, August 12, 2026. —ReutersAirplane pass the sun as the moon partially covers during a solar eclipse ,as seen from Prague, Czech Republic, August 12, 2026. —ReutersPeople react as they observe the total solar eclipse from the sea port of Tarragona, northeastern Spain, on August 12, 2026. —AFPA family watches the partial solar eclipse through a mask and special glasses above Prachatice city, Czech Republic, on August 12, 2026. —AFPA shadow falls on the Earth’s surface during a solar eclipse over the Northern Hemisphere August 12 2026, in this still image taken from satellite time-lapse video. —AFPThe Sun’s corona glows as the Moon completely blocks the Sun during the totality phase of the total solar eclipse as seen from Berlanga de Duero, 240 km north-east of Madrid, on August 12, 2026. —AFPA family watches the partial solar eclipse through a mask and special glasses above Prachatice city, Czech Republic, on August 12, 2026. —AFPA woman (C) holds a piece of paper showing the eclipse refracted from binoculars, as people gather to watch a near total solar eclipse, with more than 90 percent of the Sun blocked by the Moon across Britain, from Primrose Hill in London on August 12, 2026. —AFPA passenger uses a mobile phone to take a picture during a special Iberia flight on the day of a total solar eclipse over the skies of Spain, August 12, 2026. —ReutersThe Sun’s corona glows as the Moon completely blocks the Sun during the totality phase of the total solar eclipse as seen from San Asensio, La Rioja region, on August 12, 2026. —AFP
Header image: The “diamond ring” effect appears as the moon moves across the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from El Arenal beach in Mallorca, Spain, August 12, 2026. —Reuters
Millions of people gathered in Iceland and northern Spain to witness Western Europe’s first total solar eclipse in 27 years. Spectators across Spain watched in
