30 August 1905 was the last time the solar corona was visible from Catalonia. Nobody alive today remembers it. 121 years have passed. On 12 August 2026 it will happen again — and this time we are the ones documenting it.
What happened on that 30th of August
All of Spain had been preparing for weeks. From the Paris Observatory to those in Berlin, Geneva and London, the world's leading scientific institutions had sent expeditions to the Iberian Peninsula. The eclipse of 30 August 1905 was, according to the calculations of the time, one of the longest and most accessible of the century: up to 3 minutes and 45 seconds of totality at the most privileged locations.
The path of totality entered through northern Spain — between A Coruña and Santander — crossed Burgos and Zaragoza, and exited through northern Valencia. In Catalonia, the southern part of Tarragona fell within the path. Barcelona, however, was on the boundary: the eclipse was slightly partial in the Catalan capital.
The Catalan astronomer who photographed everything
The scientific protagonist of the eclipse in Catalonia was Josep Comas Solà, first director of the recently inaugurated Fabra Observatory on the Tibidabo — opened just the previous year, in April 1904. Comas Solà requested permission from the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona to travel to the totality zone with his instruments.
Josep Comas Solà · Director of the Fabra Observatory
Comas Solà set up his expedition in Vinaròs, within the path of totality, with two refracting telescopes equipped for photography and spectroscopy. He was a pioneer in using the cinematographic method for spectroscopic eclipse studies — a revolutionary technique for the era. In his later chronicles, alongside the scientific results, he could not help mentioning the excellent meals served at the local inns. Science, and the good Mediterranean life, always together.
The Fabra Observatory, built on the Tibidabo in what was then completely uninhabited countryside, observed the eclipse from Barcelona — although the Catalan capital, being at the extreme limit of the totality zone, experienced a slightly partial eclipse. It was the Mailhat refracting telescope, installed that same year of 1905, that was used for the observations. That telescope is still operational today.
The total eclipse began at twelve hours and forty-two minutes, as announced. Light clouds veiled the solar disc, which appeared surrounded by the corona visible to the naked eye.
Chronicle of the era — Spanish press, 30 August 1905
Spain, world scientific capital for a few days
The eclipse of 1905 turned Spain into the centre of the scientific world for a few weeks. With a population of 18.6 million inhabitants, of whom nearly 12 million were completely illiterate, the contrast was striking: the most important observatories on the planet had sent their finest instruments and astronomers.
- The Paris Observatory sent astronomer Puiseux to choose the best site in Burgos.
- The Bordeaux Observatory also chose Burgos as its base of operations.
- A German commission of nine members from the Treptow Observatory arrived on 23 August.
- King Alfonso XIII observed the eclipse from Burgos, together with the royal family.
- Around 40 scientific expeditions from around the world arrived in Mallorca.
- The press explained how to watch the eclipse using glass smoked over candle flames — something we do not recommend at all today.
Tourism is growing like an avalanche in our Mallorca. The foreigners who arrive on our shores eager to enjoy the charms of nature already form a legion, and at this moment when the solar eclipse has gathered such a constellation of men of science here, the vibrant manifestation of tourism at its peak is plain to see.
La Almudaina, front page, 30 August 1905
How it was experienced on the street
The eclipse was not just a scientific event. Towns within the path of totality organised festivities. In Burgos, eclipse day coincided with the laying of the foundation stone of a monument to El Cid, with a grandstand for the authorities decorated with tapestries, flowers and foliage. There were bullfights, fencing bouts, firework displays and theatre.
Factories in Mallorca closed during the eclipse to prevent coal smoke from interfering with observations. The obsession with pleasing the visiting scientists was such that the island's industrial activity ground to a halt for a few minutes.
In the villages, people looked at the Sun through smoked glass — the eye protection technology of the day. Astronomers, at least, had specialised glass filters. The general public improvised as best they could.
1905 vs 2026: the same phenomenon, another world
- Candle-smoked glass as eye protection
- Brass telescopes transported by carriage
- Glass photographic plates, developed in the field
- Telegrams to communicate results
- The press took a day to publish the chronicles
- Exact timings required "a thousand calculations" with astronomical tables
- 12 million illiterates among potential observers
- Special trains to bring scientists to the path
- ISO 12312-2 certified glasses with batch traceability
- Phone with tripod and pro mode app in your pocket
- RAW photography, post-processed in 10 minutes
- Live stream from eclipsi26.com
- Chronicle published in real time
- Search tool with all 221 municipalities and exact times to the second
- Millions of people with access to the information
- GPS, planning apps and satellite maps
What has not changed in 121 years
For all the technological difference, there is something the eclipses of 1905 and 2026 share exactly: the need to be in the right place. In 1905, astronomers travelled weeks in advance with instruments weighing hundreds of kilos to position themselves in the path of totality. In 2026, anyone who wants to see the solar corona from Barcelona or Girona will have to do the same — travel south.
And there is something else that does not change: the human reaction to totality. The chronicles of 1905 describe a sudden silence, disoriented animals, the horizon lit in every direction while the sky above the observers goes dark. Exactly what those inside the path will see on 12 August 2026.
The general darkening of the sky in the surroundings of totality was very pronounced. Venus was perfectly visible. The temperature dropped considerably.
Scientific chronicle of the 1905 eclipse · Fabra Observatory · Barcelona
Where will you be on 12 August?
In 1905 there was no easy way to know whether your town was within the path. Today there is. We have compiled the official IGN data for the 221 municipalities in Catalonia with a total eclipse: exact start, peak and end times of totality, and duration in seconds.
The 221 municipalities with
total eclipse in Catalonia
What in 1905 required astronomical tables and complex calculations today fits in a PDF. Download the visibility map with all 221 municipalities, their exact times and duration of totality. Save it on your phone before 12 August.
Instant download
Or use the search tool directly: eclipsi26.com → municipality search. In 1905 it took days to calculate whether your town was inside the path. Now it takes 3 seconds.
The equipment you need: infinitely simpler
Comas Solà transported brass telescopes, glass photographic plates and spectroscopes by train to Vinaròs. You only need this:
Historical sources: Agrupació Astronòmica de Sabadell · Historical Archive of the National Astronomical Observatory · IEEC · Barcelona Memory · Fabra Observatory · Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC).