Overview
- On August 12 a narrow path of totality will cross northern Spain, giving dozens of provinces a brief period of total darkness while other cities, including Madrid, see a very deep partial eclipse.
- Authorities have activated regional safety and mobility plans, designated dozens of official observation points and warned of heavy travel, with early estimates of up to 1.5 million extra trips into the visibility band.
- A national campaign led with ONCE is distributing two million certified ISO 12312‑2 eclipse glasses while regional programs will hand out an additional 150,000 in Catalan observation sites to reduce unsafe viewing.
- Scientific teams, including a NASA‑funded WB‑57 research aircraft plus coordinated high‑altitude balloon and ground sensors, are set to chase the Moon’s shadow to study the solar corona and short‑term atmospheric effects.
- Experts and fact‑checkers have issued repeated alerts about counterfeit or non‑compliant eyewear and advise checking the EN ISO 12312‑2:2015 label, authentic CE documentation and using indirect methods like pinhole projection when certified filters are unavailable.