Zaragoza.- The Delegation of the Government of Spain in Aragon has held today a meeting to coordinate the special security device planned on the occasion of the solar eclipse of August 12 in which Aragon will be a privileged place for its observation and for which up to 400,000 visitors are expected. The meeting, chaired by the delegate, Fernando Beltrán, was attended by the National Police, the Civil Guard, the Government of Aragón, AEMET, DGT, the National Geographic Institute, CSIC and the FAMCP. The meeting announced that the first security measures to be applied during the eclipse will be known in the month of June. “Just over three months after the eclipse, all administrations are working closely to plan all the details that will allow this event to take place without incident and with all the security guarantees. We will have all the means provided for any eventuality that may arise,” explained Beltrán.

The delegate of the Government of Spain in Aragon has indicated that in these devices the different agencies of the General Administration of the State will participate. For example, the AEMET has prepared a map of the peninsula in which it will be possible to see which areas have been poorly covered by clouds (maximum 35%) in the last 15 years. Five days before the eclipse, this information will be replaced by a prediction. In addition, there will be a special prediction - such as the one made for Easter and Christmas - for the entire peninsula.

The CSIC is preparing scientific and dissemination activities related to the eclipse that will be held at different points of interest. In addition, it has made available the emergency unit of scientists that was created after the eruption of the volcano of La Palma in case scientific advice was needed.

Likewise, the provincial traffic headquarters will be especially attentive to the state of the roads and possible incidents, since the eclipse will coincide with one of the summer special operations.

The National Geographic Institute (IGN) has developed informative materials on the eclipse that can be consulted in https://eclipses.ign.es. The director of the regional service of Aragon of the IGN, Alejandro Asín, has insisted that you have to use certified glasses to see the eclipse: in the IGN of Aragon, more than 500 have already been sold and it is expected to receive a bigger game. “We are receiving inquiries from people who have bought glasses online and who do not comply with the regulations. You have to be careful with this,” warned the head of the IGN in Aragon.

On the other hand, the delegate of the Government of Spain in Aragon recalled that the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports has designed, together with the Education work team of the Scientific and Advisory Commission of the Trio of Eclipses and the team of National Coordinators of Astronomy for Education (NAEC) of the International Astronomical Union, a free training so that both teachers and the general public can take advantage of the educational opportunity represented by the total eclipses of 2026 and 2027 and the annular eclipse of 2028, in addition to make sure monitoring of them.

With the name ‘The Sun and the Trio of Eclipses 2026-2027-2028’, the course, which will be massive, open and online (MOOC), will deepen the knowledge of the Sun and its most fascinating phenomena; it will help to understand the dynamics of the Sun-Earth-Moon system in a practical and intuitive way and will offer indications to learn to observe eclipses safely and transmit it to students. In addition, it will explore the historical and cultural dimension of eclipses throughout the history of humanity and help prepare specifically for the total eclipses of 2026 and 2027 and the annular eclipse of 2028.

Essential rules:

· Homemade filters such as X-rays, sunglasses, cedés, smoked glasses, welding goggles, cheap filters for binoculars and telescopes… are not safe and completely discouraged.

· Never look at the sun without approved protection

· Wear only certified eclipse glasses

· Even if you have the approved glasses on, it is not advisable to look in the sun more than one minute in a row.

· The glasses must cover the entire field of vision and be in perfect condition (without scratches or blemishes).

· You can only look unprotected while the sun is completely hidden, during the entire eclipse.

Practical tips:

· Know the information about the next eclipses that can be observed from our territory from the portal www.trioeclipses.es

· Access the interactive display visualizadores.ign.es/eclipses/ from the “trajectory center” section where you can plan the observation of the eclipse, consult the schedules, the obscuration percentage and the real-time meteorological data of the AEMET of your locality.