Total solar eclipse over Spain to draw millions of viewers across Europe

A total solar eclipse is set to occur on Wednesday, visible in large parts of north and central Spain, as well as smaller parts of Portugal, Greenland, and Iceland. The phenomenon will also be partially visible across much of Western Europe, including the south of France. According to the Guardian Science, officials estimate that as many as 6 million people could flock to the eclipse path in Spain, which stretches about 200km from A Coruña in Spain's northwest to the Mediterranean island of Mallorca.

The total eclipse will last up to two minutes and 18 seconds, with the shadow cast by the Moon crossing Spain diagonally from the northern Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean Sea, where it will vanish at around 1830 GMT, as reported by The Jakarta Post. The eclipse will be mainland Europe's first total eclipse since 2006.

The event has generated significant excitement, with eclipse chasers, tourists, and astronomers searching for the clearest skies to watch the two minutes of totality, as noted by Guardian Science. César González, an astronomer and science communicator at the Madrid Planetarium, described the event as "one of the best spectacles in nature".

Brief written by urgent.news from RFI English, The Jakarta Post, Ajel English, Guardian Science, Live Mint — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.