Baghdad: The first total solar eclipse in decades in Europe swept across the continent on Wednesday, turning day to dark across several countries as crowds watch from hilltops, coastlines and other open spaces.

According to Iraqi News Agency, the coincidence of Earth, the moon, and the sun falling into perfect alignment – a fleeting celestial event known as totality – created a frenzy across the region. People have paid exorbitant hotel rates to be in the inner part, or umbra, of the lunar shadow. Along that path, where the sky is clear, the sun becomes a black disk ensconced in a hazy corona, surrounded by planets and stars.

The sun during the total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, in Caspe, Spain. It was the first time a total solar eclipse, when the sun is blocked by the moon’s orbit, could be viewed from Spain since 1905.