Moon’s Shadow Seen Over Spain: Stratospheric Balloons Capture Solar Eclipse

The shadow of the Moon crossing Spain during the recent solar eclipse has been captured from the stratosphere. The images come from 15 balloons launched by the “Misión Globo Sonda Eclipses” project. The balloons reached heights between 31 and 38 kilometers, offering a new perspective of the event. Alex Mendiolagoitia, project coordinator and member of the Madrid Astronomy Association, said all balloons launched without problems. “All of them managed to capture the shadow from above,” he explained. In the images, viewers can see the eclipsed Sun and the dark ellipse of the Moon’s shadow on the ground. “That is the photo we were looking for: the eclipsed Sun above the horizon and the Moon’s shadow over Spain,” he added. The balloons were launched from various points across the peninsula. Most were recovered in the early hours of the morning. The devices were equipped with GPS and flashing lights to help teams find them after landing. One team from Extremadura launched its balloon outside the path of totality to capture the shadow from the side. That balloon traveled to the Serra da Estrela in Portugal. Guided by the beacon’s sounds and lights, the team hiked and climbed to recover the box at a peak 1,400 meters high, succeeding around 2:00 a.m. Some balloons were visible from the ground during the eclipse. Two launched in Palencia were spotted with large binoculars. “At some point, someone saw one explode,” Mendiolagoitia noted. Balloons launched from Zaragoza faced strong local winds, which carried them much farther and forced teams to travel longer distances for recovery. The mission is a citizen science project organized by the Federation of Spanish Astronomy Associations. It began three years ago when Mendiolagoitia and science communicator Juan José García realized the Sun would be very low on the horizon during the eclipse. They asked a simple question: “Why not go higher?” That question led to a large mobilization involving 13 teams and nearly 100 people, aged 9 to 85. They trained and practiced launches from Valladolid, Palencia, the Basque Country, La Rioja, Zaragoza, and Soria. For Mendiolagoitia, the effort was worthwhile. “The eclipse is the greatest show nature can offer,” he said. “There is nothing more impressive.”