The City of Arts and Sciences has organized for the next 21 July a solar observation with telescopes outside the Umbracle, between the 11.00 and the 13.00 hours. Besides, at 19.00 hours, The Auditorium of the Museu de les Ciències will host the conference 'The eclipse of our life', taught by the popularizer Nacho Pérez, in which he will address the great astronomical phenomenon of summer: the total solar eclipse. Both activities are free and open access.
The director general of the City of Arts and Sciences, Ana Ortells, has invited the entire public to participate in these free-access activities that are part of the special program launched in the complex this year on the occasion of the eclipse of the 12 of August, which include prior dissemination actions such as observations or conferences. About it, has highlighted that "we are offering citizens content in various formats to enrich their personal experience during the phenomenon of the total solar eclipse.", both culturally and scientifically”.
The eclipse of 12 August will not be able to be observed in all its magnitude from the facilities of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. The totality phase will occur very close to sunset, with the Sun extremely low above the western horizon.
Besides, Ortells recalled that the third edition of the international astrophotography contest 'AstroCiutat' is dedicated exclusively to the phenomenon of solar eclipses. Through this contest, The Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències wants to promote among the public this type of photography that links art with science and astronomical dissemination. Interested people can send their photographs from Thursday 13 August 2026 until sunday 13 of September.
solar observation
Telescope observation of the Sun is scheduled for Tuesday 21 July 11.00 a 13.00 on the Paseo de Arbotantes next to the Umbracle. Attendees will be able to see the dark spots of the photosphere or the bulges of the chromosphere, characterized by their intense red color. For it, several telescopes will be available: those equipped with a filter for visible light allow the observation of sunspots (photosphere), with the H-alpha type you can see the flares or protuberances (chromosphere); A white screen will also be installed to project the image of the Sun. This activity will be carried out whenever weather conditions allow it..
In the afternoon, The Santiago Grisolía Auditorium of the Museu de les Ciències will host the conference 'The eclipse of our life', free access until capacity is reached, which will be taught by the person in charge of scientific dissemination Galactica/AstroÁndalus and coordinator of the Center for Dissemination and Practices of Astronomy of Teruel (Galactic), Nacho Perez. In his talk, The popularizer will share with the audience why an eclipse is much more than an astronomical phenomenon since it can be considered the perfect meeting between the Sun, the Moon and us, observers trying to understand our place in the Universe.
‘Eclipse Projection’. The moment of totality
Among the new content, highlights the movie 'Eclipse. The moment of totality' with more than 13.000 viewers since its premiere last 28 of April. This projection uses real images captured by renowned astrophotographers, along with computer graphics, to show how the Moon, as it orbits the Earth every month, It can be located between our planet and more distant celestial bodies, generating eclipses or even occultations of planets like Venus or Saturn.
The documentary explains how eclipses occur and are perceived from different places on the planet or what stories they have created throughout human history.. Planetary occultations shown, lunar eclipses and different types of solar eclipses — partial, annul, total and hybrid—, accompanying the viewer from mountains, salt deserts, ancestral traditions and spatial landscapes. It also addresses scientific milestones such as the first observational confirmation of Einstein's general relativity during the solar eclipse of 1919.
The experience culminates with viewing the total eclipse from Wyoming and a final invitation: Total eclipses are rare for the same point on the planet, so witnessing them becomes a unique moment that deserves to be experienced in first person.. The sessions also include the short film 11 minutos ‘The Incredible Sun’, a fulldome documentary 11 minutes that reveals the true nature of the Sun through stunning timelapse sequences created with real images captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory mission (SDO). Thanks to the advanced processing of this data, the documentary reveals the intense solar activity, showing phenomena such as eruptions, sunspots and coronal mass ejections, that show that our star is far from being a quiet star.
