Spain is gearing up for a rare total solar eclipse, even as extreme heat and wildfires threaten to cast a pall over the spectacle. Millions in northern and central Spain will have prime views of the event, which begins around sunset. Spanish authorities have set up 350 official viewing sites and restricted access to 123 others due to environmental concerns. With temperatures soaring above 35 degrees Celsius and dry vegetation, officials are urging caution to prevent wildfires. Hotel prices in Spain and Iceland have soared, with rooms in Reykjavík exceeding $1,000 for Wednesday night. The eclipse marks Iceland's first total solar eclipse since 1954.
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Sorry, North America. After winning the cosmic lottery with a pair of coast-to-coast total solar eclipses, now it's Europe's turn. But look skyward anyway Wednesday and, if you're far enough north in the U.S. and Canada, you can savor a partial eclipse as the moon nibbles away at the sun. Totality will begin near the North Pole, then streak southward across Greenland, Iceland, Spain and a patch of Portugal. If skies are clear, a partial eclipse should be visible in Anchorage, Alaska; Detroit; New York City; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; and Bangor, Maine, among other places.
Astronomers say viewing conditions are promising for the Perseid meteor shower this year. A new moon will prevent moonlight from spoiling the show. NASA says about 50 to 100 meteors per hour may be visible under ideal conditions during Wednesday night's peak. The Perseids will coincide with a total solar eclipse across Spain, Iceland and Greenland and a six-planet parade. The best time to view the fireballs will come after totality. Meteor showers happen when Earth plows through trails of debris left by comets or asteroids. The Perseids come from comet Swift-Tuttle. The next major meteor shower peaks in October.
For the first time in more than a century, a total solar eclipse is coming to mainland Spain with an even longer encore next summer. Daytime darkness will descend Aug. 12 across the Iberian Peninsula, plus slivers of Greenland and Iceland. Totality will last up to two minutes and 18 seconds. A partial eclipse will delight as far away as Alaska and Siberia, enveloping Canada, the northern U.S., and much of Europe and West Africa. This year's solar spectacle is a warmup to 2027 when a 6½-minute extravaganza will sweep from Spain to North Africa and the Middle East.
Astronomers have discovered a faint new world orbiting a young star after more than a decade of cosmic hide-and-seek. In an unusual twist, two teams working independently discovered the planet a few days apart late last year using different telescopes. Both studies appear Wednesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. It's the third planet found around the star Beta Pictoris, which is 63 light-years away. This one is a cold gas giant like its companions, but less massive and much fainter. It was hidden in archival data, overshadowed by its partners for more than a decade.
Happy Vernal Equinox, almost! Monday will be the first day of spring, but it can be confusing to say that because there are a couple different times this comes up. Monday is, astronomically, the first day of spring because the vernal equinox happens at 5:24 PM.
Professor Gerard Williger and two colleagues from England recently discovered an arc of galaxies in distant space.
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The South Pole Wall, as it has been dubbed, is situated along the southern border of the cosmos from the perspective of Earth, and consists of thousands of galaxies, hydrogen gas, dust and dark matter.
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Scientists have referred to the objects as ORCs, or "odd radio circles."
