Total Solar Eclipse of 12Aug26

The charm of the eclipse at Leon, Spain

A Special Guest Article by Dr B S Shylaja

 

Eclipse watching is safer than skydiving, less strenuous than mountain climbing, but far more addicting than liquor. It is not expensive either, particularly if you want comfort.

– Jack B Zirker

 

Totality as observed at Leon, Spain

 

It is a privilege to post this special guest-written article from the distinguished astrophysicist and former director of the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium in Bangalore, Dr B S Shylaja, who describes her experience of viewing the recent total solar eclipse from Leon, Spain.  Including me, a small group of us were to have kept company with her and joined in the excitement, but she ended up as our sole representative.  Her disappointment of 2016 in Indonesia (as alluded to here) seems to have been well compensated for.

Dr B S Shylaja is a well-known Indian astrophysicist, science communicator and historian of astronomy, whose career has combined scientific research with an exceptional commitment to the popularization of astronomy. After obtaining her M Sc degree in Physics from Bangalore University and Ph D from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, she pursued research in stellar astrophysics. In 1994, she joined the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bangalore, and retired from service as its director in 2017. She made major contributions to astronomy education and public outreach through innovative programmes, exhibitions, workshops and observational activities, bringing astronomy within the reach of students and the wider public.  Dr Shylaja has also made significant contributions to the study of the history of Indian astronomy, investigating astronomical references in ancient manuscripts, inscriptions, temple architecture and historical instruments. Her publications on subjects ranging from historical observations of supernovae and the identification of stars in Indian astronomical catalogues to traditional methods of eclipse computation reflect the breadth of her scholarship.  Apart from her research work in Astronomy and Astrophysics, especially on Wolf-Rayet binary stars and comets, Dr Shylaja has authored and edited numerous books and contributed very extensively to popular astronomy literature in both English and Kannada. Khagola Darshana, the encyclopaedical Kannada work co-edited by her was reviewed in this blog in August 2023 (see here). Through her sustained work as a scientist, educator, communicator and historian of astronomy, Dr Shylaja has helped build a meaningful bridge between contemporary astrophysics, India's astronomical heritage and the public understanding of science.

The Journey

The eclipse of August 2026 was much publicized for the shadow running through Iceland. It provided a very interesting track almost from North - South, covering Iceland and northern Spain. Prof Prasad made an excellent analysis of the potential spots for successful expeditions, giving full marks to Spain.  He had favored Leon; it is sad that he could not join us. Though Iceland was not a favorable choice, people had booked their spots almost a year in advance. Our family group opted for northern Spain – the hilly country side of the province of Asturias. This is a land of scenic beauty. Mountains, valleys, serene atmosphere where the only sound audible is that of the cow bells from the peaks on the other side.

We landed in Madrid; the train to Oviedo was not sympathetic to the delay in the arrival of our flight. We had to depend on alternative choices and reached Oviedo by cab – from 39 C to 22 C via rains and fog on the mountains. Long tunnels, steep hills and deep valleys alternated the views from the windows. (While returning to Madrid by train we realised that most of the train route was through many dark tunnels, sometimes lasting 12 to 15 minutes each.)

Our plan included visits to various interesting spots in and around Oviedo, before and after the eclipse (becomes another long write up) – the stalagmite caves, cathedral beach, foot prints of dinosaurs, cheese making in caves, the Roman bath at Gijon….…….and the awesome bufones (blowholes).

Path of eclipse over Spain

Change of Location

We had chosen a country side ‘home’ in a small village called Perlunes inside the National Park for the day of the eclipse, but the weather prediction forced us to change the decision. On the day of the eclipse, we drove to the plains. León was 2 hours away; we reached by noon. The temperature was soaring at 39. We temporarily escaped from the heat by getting into a beautiful museum on the famous architect Gaudi.

ESA and the local administration had made elaborate arrangements for day-long activity-based shows in the football stadium and the adjoining parking place. We set out at 7 pm, sweating through our walk for about 15 minutes; almost all shops had put a tag on their door ‘eclipse goggles sold out’. We were already ‘armed’ with several eclipse goggles, two cameras and their stands and water.

People, mostly families, had already lined up and the volunteers ensured a smooth entry; they were counting the number of people (the next day news report put the turnout at 40,000) and offered free eclipse goggles to all. There was a large screen showing the Sun in all its glory. People were seated in the shade – they were giving instructions on the use of eclipse goggles and explaining the basics of eclipses as I could gather from the visuals. Families with small children had stretched out their mats; kids happily played around.

The Anticipation

By 7:30 pm a small subsection of the crowd, which included us, drifted to the parking place. We set up our camera stands and the cameras - protected with shields. There was a big applause at the first contact, which was very clear on the large screen. The Sun was quite low, about 10 degrees from the horizon, no strain on the neck. Children projected the pinhole images on their own body. Many continued relishing the stock of eatables. It looked rather like a picnic spot.

Before the eclipse 

Partial phase

As the Moon progressed, we clicked some stages of the partial eclipse. We could see three sunspots very clearly – one as a large group. The crescent started thinning as we watched through the goggles.

Just before the second contact

8:23 pm. There was an eerie silence; everyone was quiet. There was no commentary either.

Totality!

Then, plop! the diamond ring showed up. What an applause! No cricketer or footballer would have earned this from all the spectators. 

The children looked at the black Sun with awe; they forgot the ice cream cone in their hand. I could not understand their exclamations in Spanish.

Just after the second contact

Just before the third contact; notice the pink dots on the edge

The corona was quite bright; we could see the streamers radiating out. Three red tints showed up along the edge. One was a fairly large prominence easily recognisable with the naked eye. The sky had become dark but just enough for Venus to show up. The conical stretch of the darkness revealed bluish tint along the horizon all around except near the Sun. Ten degrees was a very comfortable view.

We had set one camera for video capture and the other one changed hand quickly for still pictures. Each one wanted to shoot. (I tried video with my mobile and wasted 10 seconds). The western edge of the black Sun briefly showed a couple of more pink dots. Even as I tried to attract others to it, Lo! The second diamond ring! And a second ‘wow’! From every spectator.

The second diamond ring

Unlike the first diamond ring, this one was a success for all cameras. The first diamond ring was missed by many cameras. In our camera, removing the filter was delayed by just a second and so it was not recorded in the video. Putting the filter back at the end also was delayed by a second and the video ended with a blast of light.

A view of the landscape during totality from the mobile camera

I was waiting to ‘feel’ the shadow bands. But in vain. They were unmistakable in Raichur (1980) and in Neem ka Thana (1994). But not very striking either in Palangkaraya (2016) or Kruger National Park (2002) – perhaps because it was partly cloudy. Now I feel that the altitude of the sun matters.

On earlier occasions of totality, the behavior of birds and animals was strikingly different, mainly with the mistaken identity of sunset. Birds returning to nest at noon (in 1980 in Raichur), a peacock dosing off at Sanchi (in 2009) and the like. In the Kruger National Park, a nocturnal animal resembling monitor (uda) showed up. Bats had ventured out. Monkeys and even elephants assumed the sleeping postures. Birds returning to nests is a general pattern. But here in León there were not many birds. The dogs that accompanied the families were too docile and probably had lost their natural instinct to react.

After totality

As the partial eclipse continued, there were exchanges of greetings – on a successful mission. Many people had come down from the mountains as we did. Some enthusiasts had come from Belgium, Netherlands and UK, driving all the way. Plans for the next total eclipse, again in Spain, next year, on 2nd August*, started taking shape. 2027 will see the shadow cross Morocco, Egypt and the southern tip of Spain. The hotels in Luxor are already booked; the tickets for the cruise in to the shadow are already sold out (10,000 $).

The End – no, not yet

Half way through the partial eclipse, people started walking out. The temperature had dropped to 31 C. Anticipating the flood (of people) the traffic ‘control’ had blocked the entry of vehicles. Restaurants made a big business with the eclipsed Sun shown live on their TV.

People saved their goggles for next year.

You see it once, then you are hooked. You want to see it again and again. That is total eclipse!

We drove back to the mountains to see the other natural wonders of Asturia. Another quiet village – Parres – the sea was visible through the windows. The house had no house number, no street number; we were led there by GPS. The foot prints of dinosaurs, the serene beach with relatively quiet waves and the roaring blow holes at Bufones de Pría waited for us.

[* This will be the subject of a separate blog article to appear soon]