INFORMATION & RESOURCES
Information and resources
Everything you need to understand eclipses: what they are, their history and mythology, the science behind them, and practical guides to observe them safely.
What is an eclipse
An eclipse happens when the Sun, the Earth and the Moon line up closely enough for one of the three bodies to block, fully or partly, the light that another receives or reflects. It's a geometric coincidence that recurs fairly regularly, but only under quite specific conditions: that's why there isn't an eclipse at every new moon or every full moon, and why a total solar eclipse is, for any given point on the planet, a near-exceptional event. This page explains what sets a solar eclipse apart from a lunar one, why they don't repeat every month, and what types of each one exist.
How to observe eclipses
Before you look at the Sun you need certified protection: ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses or a dedicated solar filter. We explain how to recognize them, which mistakes to avoid, and the one moment —only inside the path of totality— when you can go without them.
What you'll see during a total eclipse
Seconds before and after totality you'll see the diamond ring and Baily's beads; during totality, the solar corona becomes visible to the naked eye. We walk you through what to expect phase by phase and how to photograph it safely.
Curiosities and future eclipses
Beyond what's already been explained about what an eclipse is and what it reveals about the Sun, there's a handful of facts that don't quite fit into any of the other sections, but that help explain why every total eclipse is, for anyone who lives through it, such a singular event. This section gathers a few of those curiosities, runs through the next eclipses visible from Spain, and explains why, even knowing the exact date centuries in advance, seeing a total eclipse from the same spot twice is so unlikely.
Observing conditions from your location
Pick a point on the map and we'll check whether the Sun will be above the real, terrain-aware horizon for each eclipse.
Calculate now →Practical recommendations
What to bring, how to choose your observing spot, and what to do if clouds get in the way: our preparation guide gathers the practical recommendations to experience the eclipse without last-minute surprises.
Weather information
Cloud cover can ruin even the best planning. We explain where our clear-sky forecasts come from and how they're calculated along the line of sight to the Sun, not just overhead.
Astrophotography
Camera settings, solar filters for your lens, and the exact timing of each phase: the photographer's guide gathers everything you need to bring home a great eclipse photo, with or without advanced gear.
Kids and teachers
An eclipse is an exceptional teaching opportunity: rarely can an entire class watch a live demonstration of celestial mechanics that has also fascinated humanity for millennia. But it's also, without any doubt, the astronomical event that demands the most caution for the eyes. This section gives guidance for explaining an eclipse in class at different ages, suggests safe activities that need no special equipment, and explains what a school needs to have settled before organising an observation with students — starting, always, with eye safety, which isn't an add-on at the end of the planning, but the condition everything else depends on.
The science of eclipses
A total eclipse isn't just a spectacle: for the few minutes it lasts, it opens a window onto solar phenomena that stay hidden at any other time, and for centuries it has been a scientific tool no ground-based instrument could replace. This section explains the exact geometry that makes that window possible, what the solar corona is and why it can only be seen this way, and what eclipses still contribute to scientific research in the age of space telescopes.
Eclipses in history
Long before anyone understood what an eclipse actually is, people were already recording them with precision. Ancient civilisations didn't need to know that the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth to notice that the phenomenon repeated with a certain rhythm — and that rhythm, even without an explanation for it, was valuable information for governing, waging war, and religion. Centuries later, once science understood exactly what caused an eclipse, it kept using those few minutes of darkness to run experiments that were impossible any other way. This section looks at some of the eclipses that left their mark on history, how eclipses were predicted before modern astronomy, and which historical eclipses have been observed from Spain.
Art and mythology
Before science, the explanation for an eclipse was a story. Cultures with no contact at all arrived at strikingly similar explanations for a phenomenon that interrupted the natural order without warning: something was eating the Sun or the Moon. That shared fear — and the rituals invented to ward it off — has left its mark on mythology, literature and art across much of human civilisation. This section looks at some of those myths, how the eclipse has been depicted in art and literature, and what role interpreting it correctly played in ancient societies.