Millions of people across Europe watched the moon almost completely block the setting sun on Wednesday, turning parts of the continent dark and briefly silencing birds as temperatures fell. The eclipse began in Russia’s remote Arctic north before tracing an arc over western Europe, with the best opportunities to see totality in Greenland, Iceland, Spain and a small strip of Portugal.
Tens of millions of people from the UK to northern Italy looked skyward, while millions of local residents and thousands of international visitors travelled into the eclipse’s path. Totality — the phase when the moon completely covers the sun’s light — was available only in parts of the countries along the path.
Iceland and Spain drew the biggest crowds
Iceland hosted its first total solar eclipse in 72 years. A record 31 cruise ships moved through waters off the country’s western coast in search of clear views for about 53,000 passengers and crew. The eclipse was also accompanied by a day-long music festival in Víðistaðatún park, hosted by Icelandic artist Björk; its 10-hour programme reserved two minutes for totality, and tickets included approved solar eclipse glasses.
Spain became another major destination for eclipse watchers. More than 450,000 tourists arrived from countries including Canada and Australia, while Spanish officials estimated that as many as 6 million people would travel into the eclipse’s path, which stretched about 124 miles (200km) from A Coruña in the north-west to Mallorca. Traffic jams were reported on major routes out of Madrid and Barcelona.
Related coverage: Why eclipse chasers are heading to Spain for Wednesday’s totality.
The eclipse changed light, temperature and animal behaviour
In Madrid’s Parque del Oeste, hundreds watched the moon cover the sun before daylight returned just over a minute later. César González, an astronomer and science communicator at the Madrid Planetarium, said totality can dim daylight enough for the brightest stars to appear, lower temperatures by several degrees and cause birds to stop singing as they mistake the darkness for nightfall.
The total phase lasted around 1 minute and 45 seconds in the account provided by González. In northern Spain, people also gathered in rural towns and villages, including Villalibado, where a team linked to Nasa prepared a live broadcast from a municipality whose last two residents left in 1998.
Researchers followed the moon’s shadow
Nasa observed the eclipse from Iceland using a high-altitude WB-57 aircraft that followed the moon’s shadow. Nasa-funded teams also launched balloons to study how the sudden darkness and cooling affected the atmosphere.
More context: The 2026 total solar eclipse: timings, locations and safety.
Other viewing efforts included a special Iberia charter flight that livestreamed the alignment of the sun, moon and Earth from about 10,000 metres above sea level. In London, people in Camberwell watched an eclipse that reached 92% totality using colanders, a perforated spatula and homemade pinhole cameras.
Also read: August 12 solar eclipse will cross Europe and the Arctic.
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