Abandoned European village is now NASA’s solar eclipse hotspot where rare phenomenon will be broadcast to entire world

A TINY European village has become NASA’s solar eclipse hotspot – despite once being abandoned for a decade. The area is set to become centre-stage to broadcast the rare phenomenon tomorrow. The settlement will broadcast the feed live from 7:30pm CEST (6:30pm BST) Credit: AFP via Getty Images NASA selected the village for its unobstructed horizon and vantage point Credit: AFP via Getty Images Villalibado, in the province of Burgos, Spain, is being hired by NASA to broadcast the total solar eclipse tomorrow (August 12) to 10million people The once-derelict village has been handpicked by the agency to provide a live feed of the phenomenon, with a team of almost 30 NASA and Exploratorium scientists and technicians preparing the international broadcast. Sign up for the Tech newsletter Thank you! The observation point, set up next to the church of San Salvador, was selected for its unobstructed horizon and location within the path of totality, among other factors. NASA spent more than a year scouting locations across Spain, as the total eclipse will pass over Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, northern Spain, a portion of Portugal and northern Russia. Located just two hours from Madrid, Villalibado’s last two residents left in 1998, and lay abandoned for the following decade. In 2006, businessman Juan Ansótegui bought the settlement to turn it into a rural tourism complex, with the first guesthouses opened in 2023. The live feed will be broadcast worldwide though NASA’s digital platforms and San Francisco’s Exploratorium, as well as international media outlets. The broadcast will begin at 7:30 pm CEST (6:30pm BST), marking the first time in 121 years that the country has experience a total solar eclipse. Most read in Tech The Met Office has shared when the sun will be obscured the most across the UK Credit: Met Office The eclipse is set to begin from around 6pm in most areas of the UK on Wednesday Meanwhile in the UK, the partial eclipse will begin from around 6pm for most areas. The most coverage of the sun is set to be experienced by those in the South West of England, around Devon and Cornwall. According to the Met Office, the peak viewing time will be from 7:13-7:16pm, where the solar coverage will be around 94.66 per cent. Comment now