Total solar eclipse plunges Spain into darkness

In just a few seconds, part of Spain found itself in complete darkness. This Wednesday, August 12, millions of curious people, sometimes from abroad, gathered to admire this spectacle. And for good reason: if the eclipse was only partial in almost all of Europe, it was total in Spain. A first in the country for over 100 years.

For a few seconds, two minutes at most depending on the location, the Moon completely obscured the Sun, plunging part of the country into darkness. Only the regions located on a strip stretching from Galicia to the Mediterranean coast and the Balearic Islands, passing through Asturias in the north of the country, were able to take full advantage of this extremely rare astronomical phenomenon.

In Tarragona, where the total phase lasted about a minute, the darkness was greeted with shouts, applause and exclamations of joy. “It’s incredible! I almost burst into tears, I had a shiver run through my body, it was magnificent. Magnificent!” said Alejandro Cuesta, a 30-year-old nanoscience researcher, amazed.