Speaker 1: Millions of people are preparing to watch Wednesday's total solar eclipse,
Speaker 1: which will be visible across parts of Europe and the Arctic.
Speaker 1: Here in the UK, there'll be around ninety percent coverage
Speaker 1: of the Sun. As our science correspondent Palab Ghosh explains.
Speaker 2: I'm in northern Spain, which is going to be experiencing
Speaker 2: a total eclipse. So essentially what happens is that the Earth,
Speaker 2: the Moon and the Sun completely aligned. The Moon blocks
Speaker 2: out the bright disk of the Sun and what we
Speaker 2: see is the Sun's corona. And those excited people witnessed
Speaker 2: an incredible sight. Now, not everyone is going to see this.
Speaker 2: If you're in either side of the path of totality,
Speaker 2: you'll see what's called a partial eclipse. Of people in
Speaker 2: the UK will experience that, but even that is particularly spectacular.
Speaker 1: So Palam is in Spain, which is going to be
Speaker 1: one of the best places to see it, as is
Speaker 1: the astronomer and science communicator Nigel Henbest and his wife
Speaker 1: Bridget Brown. Hello to both, I am so you've traveled
Speaker 1: to Spain searching basically for the perfect spot? Have you
Speaker 1: found the perfect spot? First of all, okay.
Speaker 3: You never know about the weather. I mean, as an astronomer,
Speaker 3: I can tell you exactly where and when you're going
Speaker 3: to see the totality. But the weather is always fingers crossed.
Speaker 3: But we are just to the north of Ridgridge in
Speaker 3: La Rioca as well, village called Santa Mingo dela Cazada.
Speaker 3: It's cloudy around the coast of Spain. We've got a
Speaker 3: fingers cross it's going to be clear inland.
Speaker 1: Okay, we hope, we hope for the best for you there.
Speaker 1: So just first of all, then Nigel talk us through
Speaker 1: what is it that's special about what we're going to
Speaker 1: see tomorrow.
Speaker 3: When the moon moves right in front of the sound,
Speaker 3: as Palad just said, it blocks out the sun itself.
Speaker 3: So that familiar sun in our sky disappears into my
Speaker 3: mind as if an alien being has put something crazy
Speaker 3: in the sky in its place, a black center, and
Speaker 3: then the rays of the corona coming out and look
Speaker 3: like something we've never seen before. Take away the sun,
Speaker 3: put something totally agent in in its place. And I'm
Speaker 3: a scientists, but it kissed me.
Speaker 4: In the gut.
Speaker 1: Bridget what about you? What do you like about this?
Speaker 4: So I'm not an academic or a scientist. I'm just
Speaker 4: an everyday person working for the county. I had seen
Speaker 4: several eclipse but not total, and I thought, what is
Speaker 4: the big deal about a total I've seen six, I've
Speaker 4: seen ninety eight percent coverage. And my husband kept insisting,
Speaker 4: you have to see totality or it will change you.
Speaker 4: So in Arkansas that two and a half years ago,
Speaker 4: we drove through eight stakes, up and down searching for
Speaker 4: the perfect spot. Cloud covers, word, and pivot. I heard
Speaker 4: several times, and when I saw my first total eclipse,
Speaker 4: I totally got it. I'm hooked and now I'm eclipse chaser.
Speaker 1: Chaser. Sorry to jump in there, bridge an eclipse chaser.
Speaker 1: I like it. So this is this is what you
Speaker 1: plan to do. Wherever you can get the best viewing spot.
Speaker 1: You're going to travel then.
Speaker 4: If way is necessary, I'm going to do my best
Speaker 4: to get there.
Speaker 3: So produce is a read book to cruise the Mediterranean
Speaker 3: for next year when we have the longest the clipse
Speaker 3: of this century that we're looking at, plans against Sydney
Speaker 3: for the year after. So yeah, yeah, one driving expeditions.
Speaker 4: Now I think my daughter Sophine Sarah will be with
Speaker 4: me on the next eclipse. Because once you see it.
Speaker 4: You're always going to want to see Tor Talent.
Speaker 1: I love it. This just seems like a good excuse
Speaker 1: for a good jolly and a good holiday as far
Speaker 1: as I can hear. But absolutely all here for it.
Speaker 1: That is wonderful. And just talk us to a little
Speaker 1: bit of the science theory. As you mentioned, we got
Speaker 1: the explanation from Palab there talking at Nigel, but just
Speaker 1: tell us a bit more about the significance of how
Speaker 1: this works and why.
Speaker 3: We normally can't see the Sun's out atmosphere the corona
Speaker 3: at all. It's a million times fainter than the Sun's
Speaker 3: surface with a blue sky in the way, you can
Speaker 3: never see it from the Earth's surface. Now, we do
Speaker 3: have satellites in space which can take images of the
Speaker 3: solar corona, but they find it difficult. Just say that
Speaker 3: close juncture close to price surface of the Sun and
Speaker 3: really faint corona so it clips when the moon sharp
Speaker 3: ridge cots it off. Mean you can see the details
Speaker 3: down right near the Sun's surface we can never see
Speaker 3: any other way. So it's not just something amazing for
Speaker 3: us to see that. There's serious science going on to
Speaker 3: understand the solar wind, which is the stream of particles
Speaker 3: coming out from the Sun, solar flares which are eruptions
Speaker 3: on the Sun's surface, great explosions, and then the solar
Speaker 3: weather these storms on some which can affect us on
Speaker 3: the Earth. They can affect communications, They can knock out
Speaker 3: satellites which relay television and other signals back to the Earth.
Speaker 3: So understanding space weather and be able to predict it
Speaker 3: as very important consequences for us on Earth.
Speaker 1: Fascinating. Nigel Bridget, brilliant to speak to you, and good
Speaker 1: luck tomorrow for finding the right spot. We hope you do.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1: And if you're not traveling around Spain right now looking
Speaker 1: for the perfect spot, then join us tomorrow here BBC
Speaker 1: News special live coverage from our teams of reporters on
Speaker 1: the path of the eclipse as it happens live here
Speaker 1: BBC News from five o'clock tomorrow