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An exceptional cosmic carambola looms over Spain. Until Three solar eclipses will cross the Spanish territory In less than three years, starting with the most spectacular of all: the total solar eclipse of August 2026, which will obscure a third of the country. It is so unusual that the government has mobilized thirteen ministries to create a contingency commission.
The eclipses trio. On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will draw a 200 km line From the northwest to southwest Spainentering through Asturias and dating Castellón to cross the Balearic Islands just at sunset. The totality phase will last about two minutes on the central line. It will be the first eclipse of this type in the Peninsula since 1905.
On August 2, 2027, the shadow of a total solar eclipse will enter through the Bay of Cádiz, crossing the strait and leaving Almeria. Ceuta, Tarifa, Cádiz Capital and part of Malaga will enjoy almost five minutes of dark in mid -morning. It will also be one of the longest eclipses of the century.
On January 26, 2028, Spain will also live an annular solar eclipse. The “Fire Ring” will travel the country from Southwest to Northeast shortly before sunset. From Huelva, Sevilla and Córdoba to Valencia, Aragon and part of the Balearic Islands. The annularity will be around seven minutes and will be seen with the sun. Outside the strip it will be observed as partial.
The government mobilizes. “The eclipses trio will be an unprecedented astronomical phenomenon, which can virtually only be seen in Spain between 2026 and 2028”, Minister Diana Morant affirmed. “In the Government we are already working to face the logistics and security challenges that this historical event will mean.”
The magnitude of the event has led the Council of Ministers to Approve the creation of a special commission To organize and coordinate all actions. It will be formed by representatives of thirteen ministries. From science and transport to interior, defense or ecological transition, through the National Astronomical Observatory and the great astrophysical institutes of the country. The Secretary of State for Science, Juan Cruz Cigudosa, will preside over the Commission, which hopes to convene the first meeting at the end of August.
The challenges of eclipses trio
The chaotic experiences lived in the United States during the eclipses of 2017 and 2024 already put on the table the main open fronts:
Congestions and accidents. The government expects an influx of hundreds of thousands or millions of people. The strip of totality of the eclipse of 2026 will only touch land in Greenland, Iceland and a much more populated and sunny country: Spain. The foreseeable result is the collapse of highways and secondary roads, with kilometer traffic jams that could block the passage to emergency vehicles. Oregon is the mirror in which nobody wants to look: he had Your overflowing access roads for three days in 2017.
Infrastructure overload in emptied Spain. Many of the best observation points They are found in rural or coastal areas With limited resources. The sudden arrival of hundreds of thousands of people could cause the exhaustion of basic services such as drinking water, food, fuel or bathrooms. Mobile coverage could also saturate, leaving those same incommunicado people. The government plans to enable “minimum services” at the observation points.
Extreme fire risk. Total solar eclipses will coincide with summer: drought, high temperatures and thousands of cars parked in fields and gutters. It is the perfect recipe for a disaster. The risk of forest fire will shoot. The precedent is, again, A fire in Oregon in 2017 which forced to evacuate hundreds of households in the middle of the totality zone a few days before the eclipse.
Pest of false eclipses glasses. Looking directly at a solar eclipse without adequate protection can cause retinopathy, Irreversible damage in the retina. To see an eclipse it is crucial to wear approved glasses with ISO 12312-2. The problem is that with each eclipse the falsifications between vendors that make their August proliferate. In 2017, Amazon had to withdraw thousands of units and reimburse money from buyers.
The first big photovoltaic blackout. A challenge of the 21st century. Spain has 25% of installed solar power. A total eclipse will cause an abrupt fall of the photovoltaic generation of up to 20 GW in less than an hour, followed by an equally fast climb when the sun reappears. Managing this undercut and the peak that follows will be a major challenge for Red Electrica, which will have to coordinate energy reserves to guarantee the stability of the system, as European operators did during the eclipse of 2015.
Tourist saturation and its effects. Astronomical tourism is a blessing, but it can also be a problem. Airbnb talks about An 830% increase In rural accommodation searches by August 2026. prices fired in hotels and rentals, temporary gentrification and the possible displacement of the usual tourist are expected. In addition, there may be an impact on labor productivity: workers taking the day to see the phenomenon. The United States estimated losses of almost 700 million dollars during working hours.
The unpredictable meteorology. The whole plan can jump through the air if clouds appear. A forecast of covered skies would cause massive displacement at the last minute to places with a better prognosis, multiplying chaos on roads. Astrophysico Alejandro Sánchez summed it up in The country: “Due to the unpredictable of the weather conditions, it is as if we did not know where the World Cup final will be celebrated until a few hours before.”
The public cost and the environmental footprint. Deploying a device from this magnitude has a cost: traffic reinforcements, health, mass cleaning … to which the environmental footprint must be added: abandoned garbage, erosion of natural places and carbon emissions of millions of displacements. Problems that the contingency commission will have to value.
A historical opportunity
Despite the challenges, the Iberian trio of eclipses It will be a golden opportunity for science, education and image of Spain. It will allow Stem educational observation campaigns and educational projects in the classrooms, consolidating the country as a world power in Astrotourism. To centralize information, the National Geographic Institute It has released a new website.
In short, Spain prepares for an event that is both a gift of nature and a stress test for the State. The key, as the new commission insists, is to anticipate, learn from the mistakes of others and coordinate so that in August 2026, when the shadow of the moon bar the peninsula, we just have to worry about looking at the sky (with the appropriate glasses) and enjoy a show that will not be repeated in generations.
Image | The Fire Ring An annular solar eclipse (Kevin BairdCC)
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