ESA Top News

εpsilon

[English] Experience a musical simulation of the 12 August 2026 total solar eclipse as seen from the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (Spain). Click here for information about ESA’s live broadcast from this observatory, or visit esa.int/solareclipse for an overview of all ESA eclipse activities & resources. 

This is a ‘musification’ – an artistic interpretation of a set of data. In this case, the eclipse determines when and how much of each sound is heard. The music is simply the way those data are presented.

This musification is a collaboration ESA’s CESAR team and Rubén García Benito from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC). It uses nine parameters extracted from a Stellarium simulation of the total solar eclipse:

Arpeggio (the rapid succession of notes): Visible sunlight. Its rhythm, range (spanning almost four octaves), and volume are determined by the light itself; the chord follows the colour of the sky. It fades out as the Sun sets. (The data determine the behaviour; the scale and pattern are artistic choices.)

Pad (background chord): The colour of the light; the redder and warmer the light becomes, the darker the chord. (The colour is the data.)

Bass (sub): The weight of the darkness; deepest during totality. (Data-driven.)

Heartbeat: The tension, reflecting how quickly the light is falling; it comes to rest during totality. (Data: rate of change.)

Bells: The actual contacts C1, C2, maximum eclipse and C3 (there is no C4, as the Sun sets before the eclipse ends). (Sonification: marking a real moment in time.)

Shimmering sound during totality: The solar corona. (A musical element placed at the real event.)

Descending whoosh: The exact moment when the Sun disappears behind the horizon. (An icon of the event; not measured wind.)

Low night drone: The onset of night (entering when the Sun passes below the horizon). (Data: when it happens and to what extent.)

Stars (soft sparkling tones): The stars that become visible at night (but not during totality). (Data: when they appear and how many are visible.)

[Spanish] Vive una simulación musical del eclipse solar total del 12 de agosto de 2026 tal como se verá desde el Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (España). Visita esa.int/solareclipse para consultar un resumen de todas las actividades y recursos de la ESA relacionados con el eclipse.

Se trata de una musificación, es decir, una interpretación artística de un conjunto de datos. En este caso, el eclipse determina cuándo se escucha cada sonido y con qué intensidad. La música es simplemente la forma en que se presentan esos datos.

Esta musificación es fruto de una colaboración entre el equipo CESAR de la ESA y Rubén García Benito, del Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC). Utiliza nueve parámetros extraídos de una simulación del eclipse solar total realizada con Stellarium:

• Arpegio (rápida sucesión de notas): La luz solar visible. Su ritmo, extensión (que abarca casi cuatro octavas) y volumen están determinados por la propia luz; el acorde sigue el color del cielo. Se desvanece a medida que el Sol se pone. (Los datos determinan el comportamiento; la escala y el patrón son elecciones artísticas).
• Pad (acorde de fondo): El color de la luz. Cuanto más rojiza y cálida se vuelve la luz, más oscuro es el acorde. (El color es el dato).
• Grave (subgrave): El peso de la oscuridad, que alcanza su máxima intensidad durante la totalidad. (Basado en datos).
• Latido: La tensión, que refleja la rapidez con la que disminuye la luz; se calma durante la totalidad. (Dato: tasa de cambio).
• Campanas: Los contactos reales C1, C2, máximo eclipse y C3 (no hay C4 porque el Sol se pone antes de que termine el eclipse). (Sonificación: marca un instante real en el tiempo).
• Brillo suspendido durante la totalidad: La corona solar. (Elemento musical situado en el momento real del acontecimiento).
• Soplo descendente: El instante exacto en que el Sol desaparece tras el horizonte. (Un recurso sonoro que representa el evento; no se trata de viento medido).
• Zumbido (dron) nocturno grave: El inicio de la noche (cuando el Sol desciende por debajo del horizonte). (Datos: cuándo ocurre y en qué grado).
• Estrellas (suaves tonos centelleantes): Las estrellas que se hacen visibles durante la noche (pero no durante la totalidad). (Datos: cuándo aparecen y cuántas son visibles).

When the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, it casts a shadow onto Earth's surface. For people in the darkest part of this shadow, the face of the Sun is totally blocked out, and its wispy atmosphere becomes visible.

On Wednesday 12 August, such a shadow will cross Greenland, Iceland, northeastern Portugal and Spain. With this being the first total eclipse visible from mainland Spain since 1905, the European Space Agency (ESA) has decided to do something special.

ESA’s live broadcast from the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre will allow anyone to experience this rare phenomenon from anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, the Agency is working with the City and University of León to organise a free in-person event, inviting people to come together for a day of interactive workshops, talks and live observations.

Find out more

Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers have discovered that dust and water can form and survive surprisingly close to the supermassive black hole at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy. The observations reveal that the evolved star IRS 3 continues to enrich its surroundings with newly formed material despite the intense radiation environment around Sagittarius A*.

Observing across the starry “plains” of space, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has taken images of NGC 2392, nicknamed the Lion Nebula.

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope previously viewed this planetary nebula in 2000, imaging the lion face-shaped target in visible light and revealing features such as the “mane” of hazy, comet-shaped objects. Now Webb has captured a clearer, more detailed view of the Lion Nebula due to its high-resolution imaging.

At first glance the nebula’s overall structure in Webb’s infrared images, both with the NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), may look quite similar to Hubble's earlier visible-light view. However, Webb's infrared vision highlights features like compact clumps of dust and haze of ionised gas. It’s taken several thousand years for this collection of gas and dust to reach its current shape, and the nebula’s components continue to be altered.

The source of these constant changes and the reason for the Lion Nebula’s distinct appearance is located at the centre: the remains of a dying star. Though it looks like the button nose of the lion, the central white dwarf's energy is powering the intricate structures seen here.

The bubble of ionised gas, which forms the lion’s face, is expanding over time and destroying dust that is in its path. Understanding the reason for why the swept-up gas has a complex structure of rings and shells, a common feature in planetary nebulae, is an ongoing endeavor.

The mane of the lion is the interior of a dust shell that is being illuminated by the white dwarf at the centre. The tufts of hair, which look like cometary tails of material, are compact clumps of dust that have survived the stellar core’s radiation and are protecting the material that lies behind them.

Webb’s imagery “freezes” this planetary nebula in time, though the star's death, and its tumultuous effects, go on. NGC 2392 will continue to undergo changes as its gas and dust migrate away from the stellar core. Astronomers estimate that the lion will eventually disperse in approximately 10,000 years — a relatively short period in astronomical terms.

[Image description: Planetary nebula NGC 2392, also called the Lion Nebula, against the black background of space. The nebula is in the centre, circular in shape, and looks like a male lion’s head. In the very centre is a small, pinkish-white circle with eight-point diffraction spikes, a white dwarf star. Surrounding the star are light purple-pink cavernous bubbles and shell-like rings. The bubbles and shells collectively form an oval with two small, wide arcs near the top, reminiscent of a lion’s face and its ears. What appears to be extended outward from the lion’s face is a thick ring of purple-blue material. The width of the ring is consistent throughout and resembles a mane.]

Links

• Release on esawebb.org
• Release on NASA website

Earth observation satellites help us monitor phenomena such as wildfires, drought and heatwaves from space. This page is updated on a regular basis with a selection of ESA’s most recent news-related images showing how the effects of climate change are impacting our world.

Week in images: 03-07 August 2026

Discover our week through the lens

On 7 August, the European Commission and the SpaceRISE consortium concluded negotiations and signed an implementation agreement to roll out IRIS², the European Union’s new flagship satellite constellation. The agreement, among other things, adds 66 satellites into low Earth orbit to the programme, bringing the main constellation to 348 satellites, and moving it from planning to full-scale deployment with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA).