What better place to observe the solar eclipse on Wednesday the 12th than on top of Sierra Nevada! OK, there are better places, if you don’t mind hiking it up to northern Spain, but nevertheless!
The first, total solar eclipse visible from the Iberian Peninsula in more than a century will take place, with its passing across Spain from west to east, passing through numerous provincial capitals from A Coruña to Palma, including Oviedo, León, Bilbao, Zaragoza, and València.
When it reaches Spain, it will be at the end of the transition, so it will take place when the Sun is setting, just a tad above the horizon.
Sierra Nevada is going to provide a chat from an astronomer as well as a priviledged point to observe it. Participants will be able to view this with specialised astronomical instruments.
The Solar Eclipse Observation activity in Sierra Nevada will take placebetween 17:50h. and 21:05h and start off with an introductory talk in the Sulayr Room, lasting approximately 45 to 60 minutes, where the context of the eclipse and its astronomical importance will be explained.
After the talk, those that survived and retained their sanity will move to the Chill Out terrace, where safe observation of the Sun will take place, using a telescope prepared for solar observation, as well as adapted binoculars and individual eclipse glasses for each participant.
Come on! That sounds great; not only can you watch the sun disappear and be able to scream, “We’re all going to die because we pissed God off” in several languages, but you can also do it in between practicing your mountain-top yodelling in the dusk.
The eclipse itself will begin around 19:35h, lasting until sunset, a moment that will mark the end of the event at 21:05h
Now, before you dig out your snorkel and Rodger Whitaker Collection, beware that it may be cancelled if its cloudy. Hopefully if there are clouds, they will be lower down the mountain. Furthermore, it might be August down below on the planet Earth but up there it’s bloody cold so take a good coat, sunglasses and water.
Furthermore, tickets might be rarer than rocking-horse droppings by now, so as an alternative, Capilleira also has something on offer at the Mirador Puerto Molina costing 15 euros with the bonus that once the sun sets in a huff, then the Perseids can be seen, which is a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle.
And, it’s no so cold there, as it’s only 2,388 metres up. Rubén Parcero and Eloy García will be explaining to those that attend (maximum capacity 300 persons) what the hell is going on up there.
(News: Sierra Nevada(Capilleira, Alpujarra, Granada, Andalucia)
Keywords: Solar Eclipse, Perseids, Guides, Great Viewing
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