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A solar eclipse swept across numerous European countries on Wednesday, drawing thousands of tourists and locals to witness a celestial event that plunged the region into darkness.
The path of totality, where the moon fully blocked the sun, ran through northern and central Spain and a small portion of northern Portugal, while the rest of Western Europe experienced only a partial eclipse.
In Spain, the cities of Bilbao, Santander, Valladolid, Burgos, Zaragoza and Valencia fell directly within the path of totality, along with the city of Palma on the island of Mallorca.
Totality began at approximately 8:27 p.m. local time (6:27 p.m. GMT) in western Spain and lasted for up to 110 seconds in some locations along the path, according to eclipse trackers.
Because the eclipse occurred close to sunset in Spain, observers described a "golden hour" effect, with the sun sitting low on the horizon as the sky darkened, creating a particularly dramatic visual display.
Madrid and Barcelona sat just outside the path of totality, but residents in both cities still witnessed more than 99% of the sun obscured by the moon.
In France, the eclipse appeared as a partial event, with observers in Paris seeing roughly 92% of the sun covered as the moon passed in front of it during the early evening hours.
Germany also experienced a partial eclipse, with about 85% of the sun obscured over Berlin, offering residents a striking, though incomplete, view of the phenomenon.
In the Netherlands, skywatchers likewise saw a partial solar eclipse, joining much of Western Europe in observing the moon cover a significant portion of the sun without reaching full totality.
Portugal saw the most dramatic scenes among the five countries, as a narrow strip in its north fell within the path of totality while the rest of the country experienced a deep partial eclipse.
The moon's shadow began racing across the Earth at 3:34 p.m. GMT, sweeping from the Arctic through Greenland and Iceland before reaching Spain and Portugal and bringing near-total darkness to about 15 million people along its path.
The event drew large crowds of tourists and locals across the five countries, with many using certified solar filters and eclipse glasses to safely observe the moon's gradual movement across the face of the sun.
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