MEDINACELI, Spain (AP) – Millions of people crowded cloudless cities and towns in Spain on Wednesday in search of the best views of a total solar eclipse, when the alignment of the sun, moon and Earth briefly plunged parts of the planet into darkness.

The crowds brought lawn chairs, umbrellas and hats as they eagerly awaited the celestial spectacle, which began early in the evening. It was the country's first total solar eclipse in more than a century.

Across a wide band of northern and central Spain and Portugal, millions of people expected to have some of mainland Europe's best views of the eclipse. It also passed over slivers of Greenland and Iceland.