The hotly anticipated total solar eclipse is taking place this evening, Wednesday, August 12, and it will be visible from Iceland in the afternoon and a big part of Spain in the late afternoon, almost near sunset. From the rest of Western Europe, it will also be visible as a partial eclipse, but the difference between a total eclipse and a partial eclipse (even if it is 99.99) is, literally, night and day.
Therefore, only those who live or have travelled to this part of the Iberian peninsula seen in green, and the Western part of Iceland, including Reykjavik, will be able to see the total eclipse, covering the sun in its entirety for around one or two minutes depending on the location. Of course, only with protective glasses, with the sign ISO 12312-2:2015.
For many people, however, the only way to watch is on a livestream. NASA has prepared a livestream that will broadcast images captured from an abandoned village in Spain. The Spanish Minister of Science will also broadcast the eclipse using an H-alpha filter that, in short, will allow to better appreciate solar phenomena that is not normally visible, the solar prominences (the arcs and loops emerging from the Sun atmosphere).
Most livestreams will start at around 19:00 CEST, 18:00 BST, which is shortly before the moment when the moon will start covering the sun in Spain, where most of the livestreams will be set, with the totality of the eclipse expected at around 20:30 CEST, 19:30 BST.
NASA total solar eclipse livestream
Spanish Minister of Science livestream
ESA total eclipse livestream
Iberia livestream from a plane
On social media, the Spanish airline Iberia will offer a broadcast of the eclipse captured from a plane, from over 10,000 metres high, which will allow them to "chase" the shadow of the moon and be unobstructed by clouds.
