I just returned from a trip to Spain where my wife and I witnessed the total solar eclipse on August 12th.
I co-lead a large group of eclipse enthusiasts with Sky & Telescope magazine’s senior editor, Kelly Beatty. We started in Barcelona, a city known for its Gothic Quarter, which includes narrow cobblestone streets built during the Roman and Medieval times. We loved exploring these quiet “alleyways” and hidden courtyards.
My team traveled to Alcañez, located 3 hours southwest of Barcelona, while my team left for Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands off the east coast of Spain. We stayed at the Jumeirah Hotel, a beautiful hotel set high on a cliff with excellent sea views, and an ideal place to see the college. The weather was extremely hot, in the mid to upper 90s, but the skies were clear during most of our stay. We were optimistic.
When traveling to view a total eclipse, you should choose places along the path that have historically better chances for clear skies. Mallorca was considered one of the best.
Contributed by Bob King
But it’s all about what happens on Eclipse day. Despite a cloudless blue sky for most of the day, that afternoon a band of distant clouds gathered in the western sky. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem. But during the 94 seconds that the Moon covers the Sun, the Moon will stand only 2.5 degrees (two fingers held together at arm’s length) above the horizon — in the middle of those clouds. No one wanted to think about that possibility yet.
We watched the ceremony from a wide open balcony on the sixth floor facing the sea. Some participants came to see the sixth or tenth eclipse. Others were excited to see their debut. Most of the group used cell phones equipped with solar filters to photograph the partial phases. A few of us had fancier devices with digital cameras and long zoom lenses. I brought with me a special telescope equipped with a filter that shows pink flames called prominences before All in all, it was better to predict where they would be discovered when the sun went dark.
Contributed by Bob King
As the Moon slowly devours the daylight, the temperature drops and the light around us becomes “weak.” The flower sparkled in the dim sky. As the sun diminished to a narrow crescent, the daylight was so weak that it felt like I was wearing sunglasses. Just before the start of the total eclipse, we were still hoping that the sun would be able to break through the clouds. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Fortunately, I quickly adjusted my camera settings to capture the photo you see here. The clouds were such an effective filter that I had never seen it all with my own eyes.
With the sun blackened by the moon and the pearly wreath, and the solar atmosphere hidden by careless clouds, I felt the wind leave my sails. I was confused and felt that others felt the same way. The crowd was subdued. But then something happened that rekindled the moment. Something many of us have seen before but never to such dramatic effect.
Contributed by Bob King
In a total solar eclipse, when the moon is about to completely cover the sun, its shadow sweeps over you and darkens the sky. Since the moon continues to move throughout the eclipse, so does its shadow. During a typical eclipse, when the sun is higher in the sky, the shadow travels across the Earth from west to east, moving at about 1,600 miles per hour. But in a sunset eclipse like this one, the shadow hits the Earth obliquely and moves incredibly quickly. To us, it was hurtling over the sea at over 12,500 miles per hour!
Contributed by Elliott Herman
The scene was incredible. Looking west, we saw what looked like a massive tornado of darkness over the water heading from west to east in real time before our eyes. Beatty compared it to the locust plague in the Bible. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. The shadow of the moon raced over our faces and took our collective breath away.
Contributed by Bob King
We didn’t know there was so much on the menu. After stopping in the clouds, the sun descended into a foggy but clear sky. The departing moon revealed the sun’s crescent, which morphed into a myriad of strange shapes caused by changes in temperature and pressure in the layers of air near the horizon. The finale featured a fiery crescent in the shape of a shark’s tail submerged beneath the sunset horizon. No matter how many eclipses you may witness, they all hold surprises. This is one reason why some of us can’t get enough of them. The next total solar eclipse will occur on August 2, 2027.
“Astro” Bob King is a freelance writer and retired photographer for the Duluth News Tribune. You can reach him at [email protected].
