Spanish airline Iberia is set to operate a special chartered flight today, soaring to 10,000 metres to view the total solar eclipse over Spain. The airline will livestream the phenomenon on its social media channels, allowing the public to watch from the aircraft's unique vantage point.
Flight details and route
The Airbus A321XLR will depart from Madrid's airport at 6:45pm and land back at the same airport after following a specially designed path over the north of the country. The route is planned to pass over the northern region of Palencia, optimising the view of the eclipse.
Northern Spanish cities set to experience the full eclipse include A Coruna, Oviedo, Bilbao and Zaragoza. The full eclipse will also be visible over Valencia, in the west of Spain, and Palma de Mallorca.
Onboard researchers and livestream
General public tickets are not available for this flight, as a group of scientific researchers from the Shelios project will be onboard instead. The Shelios Project is an astronomer-led initiative that uses aircraft as airborne observatories to study the Sun during solar eclipses.
The crew will be led by Captain Javier Lopera Alcalá, with First Officer Javier Meana Fernández, who also has training in astrophysics. Astronomer Miquel Serra-Ricart said: "Observing from cruising altitude will allow us to have a clear view of the solar corona, free from cloud cover and other atmospheric phenomena that can make ground-based observation more difficult."
These researchers will also be able to observe the surroundings of the Sun from this special flight, including the apparent position of Venus, Mercury and other visible stars.
UK viewing and safety warnings
Today's solar eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the Iberian Peninsula since 1912. The UK last experienced a total solar eclipse in 1999 and will see a partial eclipse this evening.
The Met Office revealed the best locations in the UK to view the cosmic phenomena were Devon, Cornwall and the westernmost parts of Pembrokeshire in Wales. These areas will see the eclipse at its fullest, with a range of 94 per cent to 96 per cent of the sun obscured by the moon.
The rest of Wales, Northern Ireland, parts of the West Midlands and the South West, and the westernmost parts of Scotland can expect to see 92 per cent to 94 per cent solar coverage. Skygazers in the rest of the UK will likely see the moon obscure 90 per cent to 92 per cent of the sun. Almost 92 per cent coverage is expected in Birmingham at 7.12pm, 91.41 per cent in London at 7.13pm, 90.74 per cent in Inverness at 7.03pm, 90.71 per cent in Edinburgh at 7.06pm and 90.22 per cent in Newcastle at 7.07pm.
The Royal Greenwich Observatory also warned the public that regular sunglasses are not a safe enough method to view the cosmic phenomenon. Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told the Mirror: "It doesn't matter that most of the sun is covered, you can't look directly at it. It's too bright to look at, not even a glance. You really do need protective equipment to look at the sun. You can't just have a quick look at it and think that's ok."
