Getting ready for solar eclipse

**Paul Moss** (0:00)
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Paul Moss, and in the early hours of Wednesday, the 12th of August, these are our main stories. Sky watchers prepare for an eclipse of the sun, with some set to be treated to that rare spectacle of a total solar blackout. And desperate efforts continue to rescue survivors of Columbia's earthquake as the number of dead rises.
Also in this podcast, what to do with empty offices when so many now work from home and…

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It's time for the daytime sky to go dark, for the temperature to suddenly drop, and for millions of people to gaze up at the sky and marvel at that rare phenomenon, a total eclipse. Across large parts of Europe, including Spain and Iceland, the sun will be completely blocked out by the moon. Here in the UK, there will be a partial eclipse, and also in North West Africa and parts of the US, with Alaska seeing about a third of the sun cut off. Our science correspondent, Pallab Ghosch, is in the northern Spanish city of Burgos to witness the event.

**Pallab Ghosh** (1:26)
The cathedral bells of the picturesque medieval city of Burgos call the Faithful to Prayer.
It's done so for centuries, but now it's a magnet for pilgrims of a different sort. Visitors are flocking here to witness a total solar eclipse.

**Paul Ekloff** (1:43)
I've traveled from Canada to come see the eclipse.

**SPEAKER_7** (1:45)
Last time there was an eclipse in Burgos it was in 1905, so we've been waiting for this for 121 years.

**SPEAKER_8** (1:51)
Very excited to see it. I've seen one. It was beautiful. It was amazing. And I'm so happy to have the chance to see one again.

**Pallab Ghosh** (2:02)
In a total eclipse, the moon completely covers the sun's bright disc, revealing its shimmering atmosphere. It hangs in the sky like a gigantic shimmering black pearl.
For a few moments, day turns to night and reality into a dream, as we witness the sun's hidden beauty.

**SPEAKER_9** (2:20)
It's quite magical. It's very otherworldly.

**Pallab Ghosh** (2:23)
Once people have seen one, many follow them all over the world, such as Paul and Julie Lee, who've traveled here from Henley-on-Thames in southern England.

**SPEAKER_9** (2:32)
This one is in a beautiful country in the middle of the summer. What's not to like? It's going to be a very different eclipse, I think, from the ones that I've seen before, because it's very low on the horizon.

**SPEAKER_10** (2:43)
The shared experience part of it is truly remarkable, and I think people who don't get underneath the totality don't ever appreciate that.

**Pallab Ghosh** (2:49)
Eclipse glasses are essential when looking at the sun. Dr Martin Griffiths, an astronomer turned eclipse guide, briefs his party on the risks.

**Martin Griffiths** (2:59)
It's so bright, so strong, that you could end up damaging your eyesight.

**Pallab Ghosh** (3:03)
But he tells me the glasses can be taken off once the moon completely covers the sun's bright disk.

**Martin Griffiths** (3:10)
So wait until totality to look at it with the naked eye. But also remember that there are lots and lots of astronomical societies across Spain, across the UK, who are putting on shows so that people can come along and see things properly through properly filtered telescopes. And of course, they all have eclipse glasses as well.

**Pallab Ghosh** (3:29)
The total eclipse begins over northern Siberia at sunrise, crosses the Arctic Ocean, Greenland, Iceland, and then sweeps across the North Atlantic and the northern half of Spain clipping a corner of Portugal before ending near the Balearic Islands at sunset. But many others in Europe, including the UK, will see a partial eclipse where the moon covers more than 90% of the sun, according to Dr Tim Revel, who's executive editor of New Scientist.

**Tim Revel** (3:59)
So with a partial eclipse, it begins with the moon slowly starting to move in front of the sun. And over the course of about an hour or so, it will take progressively bigger chunks out of the sun as it slowly moves across. And you'll notice the sky starts to get a bit darker, you start to see crescent shadows on the floor, and eventually it will reach the maximum. And then the same thing will happen in the reverse again over the course of an hour. And you'll see the skies go darker, it might become a little bit colder, the birds might become a little bit quieter, and then that will be the full experience of the partial eclipse.