In addition to the Community of Madrid, the path of totality for the eclipse on August 12 will cross areas in twelve other autonomous communities. In Castile and León, the total solar eclipse will be visible from nearly all provinces; several of them have reached 100% occupancy and are expected to become destinations for thousands of “eclipse chasers” in the coming days .
One of the places that will be fully booked on August 12 is Villalibado, in the province of Burgos, although its guests are not amateur “eclipse chasers.” A team of thirty scientists and technicians from NASA and the Exploratorium—a museum of science, art, and technology in San Francisco—will be staying there. They will be responsible for studying the solar eclipse and broadcasting it live to the whole world via the Exploratorium’s website and YouTube channel.
The observation point will be located at the Church of San Salvador, a 12th-century Romanesque church built on a hilltop in the village. NASA’s choice was not based on the historical significance of Villalibado, but rather on the fact that its location offers unbeatable viewing conditions: it lies within the path of totality, has good communications infrastructure, and, due to its elevation, provides a perfect view of the sky with unobstructed horizons.
A village abandoned in 1998
The idea that Villalibado would host a team of NASA scientists would have been unimaginable in 1998, when the last two residents of this hamlet of Villadiego left. In 2006, Juan Ansótegui bought the entire village and, together with his brothers, turned it into a tourist complex, launching the town’s first rural guesthouses in 2023.
Speaking to the Diario de Burgos, Ansótegui said that when he received the call from NASA to rent out all of Villalibado (including the church) for the eclipse, he thought “it was a scam.” “They went there without saying a word and chose it after having visited many other places, ”he explained to the Burgos newspaper.
The broadcast of the eclipse will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Spain (10:30 a.m. Pacific Time) and, in addition to being streamed online, will also be aired live on U.S. television networks such as CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox.