Briefing|Total Eclipse Blacks Out European Sun

Europe’s first total solar eclipse in decades swept across the continent today. It started over Iceland — where birds screamed as if it were dusk, while the air went cold and darkness fell — then moved south to Spain. Crowds chanted, “Now, now, now!” as the eclipse took its first nibble in Castrillo de la Reina. Follow our live coverage here.

Towns that are normally empty were suddenly swamped with tourists, who shelled out unthinkable sums to snag hotel rooms in the umbra, or inner part, of the lunar shadow. Along that path, where the sky was clear, the sun became a black disk ensconced in a hazy corona, surrounded by planets and stars. (The brief totality phase lasted, at most, just over two minutes.)

Don’t head inside just yet: Summer’s strongest meteor shower peaks tonight, and just about anyone in the Northern Hemisphere can see it. Here’s how to watch.