Prades in Spain's Catalonia drew thousands of tourists and astronomy enthusiasts this week for a rare total solar eclipse, as the Moon briefly turned day into night on Wednesday.
The small town hosted a four‑day astronomy festival, with telescopes, workshops and planetarium shows leading up to the spectacle.
For many visitors, the eclipse is more than a scientific spectacle, it is an emotional experience, mixing awe, anticipation and the sense of witnessing history.
"We will be able to see it from the observatory -- it's a good place to view it, to make sure we see it properly and experience what it is like. Because it's going to be 120 years -- I don't know how many -- until there will be another one, so let's see what it feels like," said Angels Auguets, a tourist.
At the Prades Mountains Astronomical Park, telescopes, workshops and immersive planetarium shows are bringing the eclipse science down to Earth.
"We are in the middle of a line during that moment, that it's the earth, it's the moon and it's the sun. And our small position there provides us with a unique view," said Alex Roig, co-founder of the Prades Mountains Astronomical Park.
The Spanish government estimates that 450,000 tourists will travel for the eclipse, which will contribute roughly 350 million euros to the economy.
Researchers want to understand what happens inside people's bodies when the light goes out.
"We are offering an application that allows you to connect smartwatches that monitor vital signs, so you can see how your heart rate, breathing and other vital signs change. It also takes various measurements to see how the body responds to changes in light and temperature," said Judith Ardevol, an astrophysicist.
The country witnessed a total solar eclipse on Wednesday, with the path of totality sweeping across northern Spain and a small area of northeastern Portugal near the Spanish border.
According to Spain's National Geographic Institute, it was the first total solar eclipse visible from the Iberian Peninsula in more than a century.
Total solar eclipse draws thousands of tourists to Spain's Prades
