We asked you for your best photos of yesterday’s partial eclipse in Spain. Here are a few of our favourites.
Day briefly turned to night in Spain yesterday, as the country witnessed its first total solar eclipse in more than a century. Swathes of the country were plunged into an eerie darkness as the spectral glow of the Sun’s outer corona shimmered out from the edges of the shadowy Moon.
The spectacle drew gasps and cheers from huge crowds in Spain, just 90 minutes after it first appeared in the remote Arctic region of northern Russia.
“It’s a sight I never would have imagined seeing,” said Isabel Troyano, a 56-year-old homemaker, watching with her son in Tarragona, on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. “I got goosebumps,” she told AFP.
Alejandro Cuesta, a 30-year-old nanoscience researcher, called it “incredible… I almost burst into tears. I got chills all over my body,” he said.
“It was magnificent… the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my entire life.”
The eclipse was the first in mainland Europe since 2006. Throughout human history, eclipses have stirred amazement, fear and reverence, as they appear to halt the normal course of nature momentarily.
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.
Clear skies helped visibility in Spain, although there were concerns due to high temperatures and the continued risk of wildfires.
Eclipse fever had gripped Spain, with government predictions that nearly 450,000 extra tourists could bring a 347-million-euro ($400-million) boost to the economy.
Manual widget for ML (class=”ml-manual-widget-container”)
“The path of totality is very narrow. It’s only a couple of hundred kilometres wide,” British astrophysicist and science communicator Graham Jones told AFP Tuesday from Fontanil de los Oteros in northern Spain.
“That’s what’s so special about Spain. The path of totality really goes across the Spanish peninsula.”
We put out a call for your photos of the moment — and you delivered. Here’s what you sent us.
Our favourite reader photos of the eclipse
“From my balcony as the sun set over the mountain opposite and, unexpectedly, an aircraft flew through the frame.”
- Mark Li
“Cambrils was fantastic. Vibrant, great atmosphere and a stunning, perfect view of the eclipse from start to finish. It completed with a beautiful crescent sunset behind the Llaberia mountains.”
- Matthew Cook
“Segorbe Castle. A perfect spot, great atmosphere and not too busy.”
- Louise Kitley
An atmospheric shot of the sun in full eclipse, from a balcony somewhere in Salou.
- Paul Bishop
“The sun coming through the blinds gave us around 250 eclipses at once on the cupboard doors – all of them safe to look at.
I took this just after maximum.”
- Pete Clark
An incredible shot from Aras de lis Olmos, Valencia.
- Sandra Porter
“Con mi esposo y mi hija. ¡Surreal y hermoso!” (With my husband and my daughter. So surreal and beautiful!) Taken somewhere in Alcañiz.
- Mariska van Daele
Before, during and after the Moon’s journey across the Sun, captured in three frames.
- Janet Kay Christian
Finally, a truly spectacular photo of the full eclipse against the backdrop of a blue, red and orange sky in Alto do Poio.
- Frank Nouws
Thank you to everyone who submitted photos, there were too many good ones to pick from! Keep an eye out on our socials for future chances to contribute to articles at The Local.
With additional reporting by AFP.
