The Eclipse

Worth knowing

• First total solar eclipse over mainland Europe since August 11, 1999 — 27 years ago almost to the day.
• The sun is 400× larger than the moon and, by pure coincidence, 400× farther away — so the discs match.
• Totality crossed Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain; Cognac sat just outside the band, at 96–97%.
• An eclipsed sunset is one of the rarest ways to see one — the geometry only lines up on a thin edge of the earth.
• France's next total eclipse: September 3, 2081.