Just 16 days after the total solar eclipse, the Balearic Islands will look to the sky again. On the morning of Friday, August 28, the Earth's shadow will cover 93% of the Moon and will tinge a good part of the satellite with a reddish or brick-red hue.

Like the Spanish national team, at the last minute. The thousands of people who chose the Variades area, in Sant Antoni de Portmany, this Wednesday to watch the eclipse, feared for twenty long minutes that the clouds would spoil the experience. Even some of the frustrated attendees began to whistle, following the logic of someone who would also applaud a sunset, as if the Sun could do anything about it. But just at the last second, the mixture of haze and clouds dissipated and at least the climax of the astronomical phenomenon could be contemplated: the 'diamond ring' effect just before the complete occultation; the halo of light when the Moon completely covers the Sun... A magical moment, even disturbing, if it weren't for the inevitable Ibizan soundtrack that accompanied it. And at full volume. The disco house that a DJ was playing at Café Mambo could be clearly heard from a good 400 meters away.

Some 400 privileged individuals were able to watch the eclipse from the top of El Toro, Menorca's highest peak, where attendees responded with applause to the spectacular moment when day suddenly darkened, as the Moon covered the Sun, which was already beginning to set.

“Ohhhh!”. The exclamation echoed across Playa de Palma as the Moon finished covering the Sun. And then came the applause. For a moment, the noise of the terraces, the alcohol, and the madness disappeared from this enclave of binge tourism. For one minute and 36 seconds, thousands of people (mostly foreigners) stopped looking at the sea, the sand, and their mobile phone screens to focus all their attention on a single point in the sky: the Sun. The Palma City Council had spent the day with a dance of figures: out of the 70,000 predicted, it ended up correcting itself saying it expected 30,000 attendees and finally said there were 60,000.

The Balearic Islands experienced a total solar eclipse this Wednesday, August 12, 2026, the first visible in the Islands since 1905. It darkened the sky for just over a minute. On this same day, moreover, three more astronomical phenomena occurred (the Perseid meteor shower, the green flash, and the alignment of six planets).

Running out of certified glasses does not mean you have to miss out on the total solar eclipse. David Galadí-Enríquez, coordinator of the Scientific and Advisory Commission of the Eclipse Trio, proposes a "much safer and more fun" alternative, especially for children: building a pinhole camera with a cardboard box.

The hours leading up to the total Solar eclipse have seen the first protests over the occupation of some of Mallorca's most sought-after spots. At the port of Valldemossa, swimmers managed to get a yacht anchored on a Posidonia seagrass meadow to raise its anchor. At Trenc beach, the Government's Environment agents removed a large deployment of furniture that a group of workers from a luxury boat had installed on the sand to observe the phenomenon.

Astronomers and enthusiasts from the Balearic Islands are all set to observe the total solar eclipse this Wednesday afternoon. The phenomenon, which will be visible from the Islands in particularly unique conditions, promises to be an extraordinary visual spectacle, but will have little "scientific appeal" due to the difficulties that will arise in taking precise measurements.

Information updated at 5:10 PM. All planned restrictions on roads, access to natural areas, and parking lots to ensure safety during the eclipse are already in effect in the Balearic Islands. In Mallorca, access to the Serra de Tramuntana via the Ma-10 and about twenty other roads leading to viewpoints, coves, and spots where a large turnout is expected has been controlled since 3 PM.

Mallorca has become a pilgrimage site to experience the eclipse. People from all over the world have bought flights to come to the island to see the astronomical phenomenon and the big question that arises is none other: why Mallorca, if it can be seen from many other places in the world?

The forecast that the Serra de Tramuntana will be one of the most crowded areas in Mallorca during the total solar eclipse on August 12 has led the Government to prepare an exceptional traffic restriction device. The objective is to avoid a collapse, but the foreseen exceptions have generated much controversy. While thousands of residents of municipalities located a few minutes from the Serra will not be able to access it by vehicle, tourists who have paid hundreds or even thousands of euros to stay in a hotel in the area will be exempt from the limitations. Thus, the exceptions set by the Government project, once again, the idea of a privatization of the territory of the Balearic Islands and reinforce the perception that those who pay have more rights to transit this territory than those who live there. "Once again, the rights of tourists who pay are above those of the residents who live on the island," remarks Joan Moranta, president of GOB.

Expectation? People coming from abroad to witness a very infrequent phenomenon? Nothing new. Another August, but this one 121 years ago, Mallorca became an international focus of attraction for a total solar eclipse, with the presence of six scientific collectives from four countries and three hundred Italian tourists who traveled expressly to the island to witness this exceptional phenomenon. It was August 30, 1905, at noon.

Mallorca has become one of the most sought-after locations to observe the solar eclipse on August 12. Thousands of people will travel to the island to witness the astronomical phenomenon, while Majorcans eagerly await an event that has not occurred in the Archipelago for over a century. Flights with no availability, full hotels, and residents searching for the best spot to observe it. There is, however, a possibility that almost no one has foreseen: what if it cannot be seen from Mallorca after all?

Amado Carbonell has traveled around Mallorca by car to mark the official eclipse observation points in collaboration with the Government of the Balearic Islands. Furthermore, he is the president of the Foundation Institute of Astronomy and Astronautics of Mallorca (FIAAM) and the Astronomical Association of Andratx.

The location from which the total solar eclipse of August 12 will be visible is beginning to be decided this week in the Balearic Islands. Between this Tuesday and Wednesday, citizens can check from which points they will have good visibility of the phenomenon in a test that will serve both to choose the observation site in advance and to create a map with recommended areas throughout the archipelago.

The location from where the total solar eclipse of August 12th can be seen is beginning to be decided this week in the Balearic Islands. Between this Tuesday and Wednesday, citizens can check from which points they will have good visibility of the phenomenon in a test that will serve both to choose the observation site in advance and to create a map with recommended areas throughout the Archipelago.

The Government of the Balearic Islands today held the second meeting of the Plenary of the Commission for the Management of Actions Related to the Total Solar Eclipse of 2026, created in December and formally constituted on January 15. During that month, the groups for Mobility, Prevention, Civil Protection and Environmental Risk Management; Public Health; Communication and Tourism, and Scientific Dissemination identified needs and potential problems and submitted proposals to the plenary.

This Sunday, September 7th, a total lunar eclipse will be visible, in which the Earth's shadow will be completely projected onto our satellite. The event will take place Sunday night and can be followed from several locations in the Balearic Islands. However, it's important to keep an eye on the weather forecast, as the day could be marked by suspended clouds and cloud cover.

Reentry into the atmosphere of the fourth stage of the rocket Jielong-3, launched by China on August 8, generated a striking luminous phenomenon this Sunday, visible from various points in the Balearic Islands, Almería, Granada, Murcia, and Alicante, as confirmed by the Fireball and Meteorite Research Network (SPMN).