MEDINACELI, Spain (AP) — Spaniards rushed to buy specialized glasses to view a rare total solar eclipse Wednesday, as authorities warned people flocking to rural areas to avoid anything that could spark new wildfires.
NASA coverage of the total solar eclipse begins at 1:15 p.m. EDT. Watch live in the video player above.
Across a swath of northern and central Spain, millions of people will have some of mainland Europe's best views of the celestial spectacle. It will begin around sunset, when the sun, moon and Earth align, briefly bringing parts of the Iberian Peninsula, plus slivers of Greenland and Iceland, into darkness.
READ MORE: Total solar eclipse will sweep over Spain, Iceland and Greenland in August
Totality — when the moon completely covers the sun's light — is expected to last less than 2 1/2 minutes, reaching its maximum duration off Iceland's west coast. By the time it gets to a small patch of Portugal and then Spain, totality will have dwindled to a minute or so. The spectacle will then end over the Mediterranean.
