Spanish solar hat-trick

Today (12 August) marks the beginning of an unusual phenomenon. After two decades without a single solar eclipse in mainland Europe, Spain will experience three solar eclipses over the next three years. The spectacle begins at around 18.08 CEST, in northern Russia. From there it continues across Greenland, Iceland, and the Iberian peninsula before it finishes around 2.5 hours later in the Balearic Islands. This is the first total solar eclipse visible from Western Europe this century, but we don't have to wait as long for the next one. In 2027, another total eclipse will cross southern Spain, and in early 2028, an annular eclipse will cover both Spain and Portugal. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, blocking the Sun's light. Depending on the alignment and the Moon's distance from Earth, the eclipse can be total (fully blocking the Sun), annular (leaving a bright ring around the Moon), or partial (covering only part of the Sun). The last time Europe experienced a solar eclipse three years in a row was between 966 and 968, according to our calculations based on NASA's historical solar eclipse data (which dates back to 1999 BC). Back then, three total solar eclipses were visible in the Baltic and Nordic countries (966), then in Türkiye (967), and lastly in the Balkans, Italy, and France (968). So it's all the more special to see three in the same region of Europe. Tourist magnet With thousands of tourists heading to Spain and Iceland to see the eclipse later today, average accommodation prices in Reykjavík have jumped by 98% compared to the same day last year. The Spanish cities located directly in the path of totality (Valladolid, Zaragoza, and Burgos) have occupancy rates 30-40% higher than the week before, according to Airbnb data from the analytics firm AirRoi, and communicated to The European Correspondent. But tourists aren't just turning up on eclipse day itself. Over the past week, Spanish towns along the path of totality saw occupancy climb by 6%. It peaks, naturally, today (12 August, eclipse day), when towns with the best visibility are 15% busier than those outside the path of totality. Book a stay and you could still be out of luck: parts of northern Spain may be seeing cloudy skies. But if you do miss it, you won't have to wait long, there is another Spanish eclipse coming up next year.