Always Following the Sun: The Journey to the Solar Eclipse

I waited six years for the sun to disappear. In 2020, after a very partial solar eclipse in Israel left me wanting more, I marked August 12, 2026, in my calendar: the date of the next total solar eclipse that would occur not far from Israel. Years passed until, on the afternoon of that August day, darkness emerged during the day in the summer skies of northern Spain, and I got to witness a truly wonderful sight.

I have loved astronomy since I was a girl, since the legendary program "Journey Through the Solar System" was broadcast every day on Educational Television, and since I attended an astronomy summer camp. Last January, as the date of the eclipse in Spain approached, I started planning. I didn't feel this was something I could organize myself, as someone who is definitely not a professional in the field, and in a foreign country at that. I looked for organized tours but found none. A local observatory informed me that Harvard and MIT had reserved the entire facility back in 2024. So I booked flights, accommodation, a rental car, and eclipse glasses from AliExpress, hoping for the best.

The Science of the Eclipse

During a solar eclipse, the Moon hides the Sun, and darkness descends on the land for a short time. This always occurs at the new moon, when the Sun illuminates the side of the Moon that never faces us. Because the orbits of the Earth and the Moon are tilted at a 5.2-degree angle to each other, the three bodies do not always align. Solar eclipses occur on average every year and a half, but often they are only visible from inconvenient locations like Antarctica. The next total solar eclipse in the skies of Israel is expected only in 2180.

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My hopes for a smooth trip were quickly dashed. The war with Iran caused many companies to cancel flights to Israel, including mine. I had to buy new tickets on El Al at an exorbitant price. On the day of the flight, we were delayed, but we eventually arrived on Spanish soil. I had considered a trip to Iceland but feared cloud cover—a fear that proved justified, as the Sun was barely visible there. In Spain, the eclipse was expected at 8:30 PM, when the Sun was low on the horizon. To avoid buildings or hills, I chose the plains in north-central Spain, an area of small villages with no public transport.

Road Trip Adventures

On the morning of the eclipse, I received an email from the rental agency: no cars available. After persistent arguments with the polite but firm manager in Zamora, we finally secured the only vehicle left—a massive Ford Transit van. We set off into the Spanish wilderness, covering distances between endless fields of sunflowers and corn. The further east we drove, the longer the totality would last.

We found an oasis at a small truck stop inn outside the remote village of Villarramiel. There, among local truck drivers, we waited for the Sun to disappear. At 20:29:11, it happened. The last rays vanished, and the sky turned dark blue. The Sun became a perfect black circle surrounded by a thin flame. It lasted for a minute and 39 seconds—a sight worth every delay and frustration.

Eclipses in Scientific History

Solar eclipses have historically served as opportunities for major scientific breakthroughs. On May 29, 1919, an eclipse provided decisive proof of Einstein's general theory of relativity when Arthur Eddington's team captured the distortion of starlight by the Sun's gravity. This year, NASA researchers led by Israeli professor Amir Caspi used a plane to study the solar corona, while others launched research balloons to analyze changes in the Earth's atmosphere.

After the eclipse, we witnessed another wonder: the peak of the Perseid meteor shower occurred that same night. We drove far from artificial lighting, sat on the ground, and watched shooting stars burn across the sky. Being an "Eclipse Chaser" turned out to be an art of planning that provides experiences that last a lifetime.