First sent to members by email on August 24, 2026. Added to this website when it launched on October 26, 2026.
On the evening of August 12, five of us stood on a hillside outside Soria, in northern Spain, and watched the Moon cover the Sun for one minute and forty seconds.
It was the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Spain since 1905, and the Sun was only about seven degrees above the horizon, so choosing the site came down to one question: could we see low in the west-northwest? We could. The sky stayed clear, the temperature dropped, and the corona appeared over the hills just before half past eight in the evening.
Because an eclipse happens at new Moon, the same night was also the peak of the Perseid meteor shower with no moonlight at all. Most of us stayed up until it got light.
The next day we flew to La Palma. The island’s sky is protected by a 1988 law that limits outdoor lighting, and it shows. We imaged for four nights, joined a daytime tour of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, and agreed that we would like to come back.
The full report is on the expedition page.