Millions of Europeans will contemplate the sky in awe on Wednesday as a rare total solar eclipse crosses part of the continent and plunges a swathe of Spain into eerie daytime darkness.
The shadow cast when the Moon blots out the Sun will begin in Russia’s remote Arctic north at around 1700 GMT and continue in an arc over Greenland and Iceland.
In Spain, where the total eclipse will be best viewed, the shadow will cross the country diagonally from the northern Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean Sea, where it will vanish at around 1830 GMT.
Self-described “eclipse chaser” Lucie Green was ready to watch from a boat off the Spanish island of Mallorca.
“People do get addicted to it because it is such a moving experience,” the British solar physicist told AFP.
Far more observers will see a partial eclipse, visible in most of Europe, Canada, the northern United States and northwest Africa.
This will be mainland Europe’s first total eclipse since 2006, and more than a century since one was witnessed in mainland Spain.
Spanish Science Minister Diana Morant told public radio RNE on Wednesday that it was “a Christmas Day that comes around every 100 years.”
Throughout human history eclipses have stirred amazement, fear and reverence, as they appear to momentarily halt the normal course of nature.
The shadow 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: for observers in Spain, the total eclipse will last less than two minutes just before sunset.
In parts of Russia and Greenland it will be slightly longer, though still under two-and-a-half minutes.
The partial eclipse -- which occurs as the Moon starts and finishes crossing the Sun’s path -- will last around one hour and 45 minutes.
The phenomenon will present scientists with a rare opportunity to study the Sun’s atmosphere and its outermost layer, as they seek to uncover secrets about solar winds and our star’s magnetic field.
Eclipse chasers were rushing to secure a vantage point.
Rain and clouds were forecast to spoil the occasion in the Westfjords region of northwestern Iceland, while Reykjavik, the capital, was set to experience its first total eclipse since 1433.
Further south, the Madrid-based Aemet weather agency has predicted clear skies for most of Spain.
Eclipse fever is gripping the country, with the type of glasses certified to safely view the Sun hard to find in some places.
The country is banking on eclipse-driven tourism for an economic boost.
The net contribution to the economy is forecast to be 347 million euros, with more than 446,000 extra tourists, according to the economy ministry.
“The path of totality is very narrow. It’s only a couple of hundred kilometers wide,” British astrophysicist and science communicator Graham Jones told AFP Tuesday from Fontanil de los Oteros.
“That’s what’s so special about Spain. The path of totality really goes across the Spanish peninsula.”
Sleepy villages have suddenly found themselves inundated with eclipse hunters.
In Benavente, a small northwestern town that is expected to offer excellent views of the total eclipse, accommodation has run out.
“We’re getting 50 calls a day to ask about where to stay, where to see it,” Benavente tourism office worker Laura del Teso told AFP.
The expected rush has caused some trepidation.
Temperatures are expected to exceed 35°C on Wednesday in most of Spain and could climb above 40°C in the northeast, posing health risks for those spending hours outdoors.
Aemet also forecasts a “very high” or “extreme” wildfire risk for much of the country -- a risk amplified by thousands of people occupying parched countryside and clogging small rural roads with their cars.
Officials expect there to be as many as 1.5 million extra road journeys towards the band of totality.
Municipalities have set up dedicated observation points and beefed up security.
Another total eclipse will cross southern Spain and northern Africa in August 2027, while an annular eclipse -- when the Moon is not big enough to completely blot out the Sun, creating a so-called “ring of fire” -- is due to visit the Iberian Peninsula in 2028.
