Iberia solar eclipse flight takes off today - how to watch livestream from 10,000 metres

Iberia solar eclipse flight takes off today - how to watch livestream from 10,000 metres A flight will set off and head thousands of metres into the sky on a special path to view the total solar eclipse over Spain today - and a livestream will allow everyone to watch the cosmic show An airline is set to charter a special flight to fly 10,000 metres in the air for the solar eclipse today. The UK will experience a near-total solar eclipse this evening, where the moon covers part of the sun. Some parts of Europe, however, will get a full solar eclipse when the moon fully obscures the sun, including parts of Spain. Spanish airline Iberia will livestream the phenomena from a special chartered flight thousands of miles in the sky. The Airbus A321XLR will depart from Madrid's airport at 6:45pm and land back at the same airport after passing through a specially designed path over the north of the country. The northern Spanish cities set to experience the full eclipse are A Coruna, Oviedo, Bilbao and Zaragoza. The full eclipse will not only be visible in northern cities as the Sun will also be covered over Valencia, in the west of Spain, and Palma de Mallorca. This special Iberia flight will pass over the northern region of Palencia, after taking a route designed to maximise how well the eclipse can be viewed. Unfortunately, the general public will not be able to get tickets for this flight as a group of scientific researchers, from the Shelios project, will be onboard instead. The Shelios Project is an astronomer-led initiative that uses aircraft as airborne observatories to study the Sun during solar eclipses. Despite this, Iberia will livestream the solar eclipse on its social media channels for the public to experience the incredible cosmic phenomena. The crew will be led by Captain Javier Lopera Alcalá and the pilot will be joined by First Officer Javier Meana Fernández, who also has training in astrophysics. The Iberia livestream can be watched here. Astronomer Miquel Serra-Ricart said: "Observing from cruising altitude will allow us to have a clear view of the solar corona, free from cloud cover and other atmospheric phenomena that can make ground-based observation more difficult." These researchers will also be able to observe the surroundings of the Sun from this special flight, including the apparent position of Venus, Mercury and other visible stars. Today's solar eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the Iberian Peninsula since 1912. The UK last experienced a total solar eclipse in 1999 and will see a partial eclipse this evening. The Met Office revealed the best locations in the UK to view the cosmic phenomena were Devon, Cornwall and the westernmost parts of Pembrokeshire in Wales. These areas will see the eclipse at its fullest, with a range of 94 per cent to 96 per cent of the sun obscured by the moon. The rest of Wales, Northern Ireland, parts of the West Midlands and the South West, and the westernmost parts of Scotland can expect to see 92 per cent to 94 per cent solar coverage. Skygazers in the rest of the UK will likely see the moon obscure 90 per cent to 92 per cent of the sun. Almost 92 per cent coverage is expected in Birmingham at 7.12pm, 91.41 per cent in London at 7.13pm, 90.74 per cent in Inverness at 7.03pm, 90.71 per cent in Edinburgh at 7.06pm and 90.22 per cent in Newcastle at 7.07pm. The Royal Greenwich Observatory also warned the public that regular sunglasses are not a safe enough method to view the cosmic phenomenon. Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told the Mirror: "It doesn't matter that most of the sun is covered, you can't look directly at it. It's too bright to look at, not even a glance. You really do need protective equipment to look at the sun. You can't just have a quick look at it and think that's ok."