Josep Masalles: "It is the phenomenon of greatest beauty in nature"

BarcelonaJosep Masalles (Barcelona, 1956) is known as the eclipse hunter. Or Mr. Eclipse Spain. He holds the record for being the person in Spain who has seen the most eclipses - a total of 43 - and is the president of Aster, the Astronomical Association of Barcelona.

First in Spain.

— Fifth in Europe and twelfth in the world. It is certified on a website where we record the data.

Who is first?

— Paul Malley, an American astrophysicist. In this world, we all know each other. But I must say that he doesn't have that many total eclipses.

Remember your first?

— The first total eclipse was in Finland. It was a tremendous adventure, I went there from Barcelona in a Volkswagen Polo. I remember the impression of the diamond ring, Baily's beads. 

Baily's Beads…

— When there is a total eclipse, the Moon covers the entire circle of the Sun. And, therefore, you see things that you cannot see if there is no eclipse. Baily's beads are the rays of light that sneak through the mountains of the moon. 

How poetic.

— Of course, the Moon is not round. It has valleys and mountains. And you see it the moment the Moon enters the Sun's circle. And you can see the Sun's flares from behind the Moon. I don't think anyone can remain indifferent.

Why does he/she like eclipses?

It is a unique event. And the most beautiful phenomenon in nature.

Nature makes me think of mountains or seas.

— People do not know the sky. The beauty of the planet and the universe attracts me. And there is no more beautiful, more visible spectacle in nature. The Sun is leaving! Imagine what we would think if we didn't know it was an eclipse.

I would be afraid.

— Clear. You can get scared or see people with glasses enjoying themselves. The difference between one thing and another is knowledge. 

Have you seen eclipses in many places. Do people react differently?

— In Iran it was spectacular to see how a very important part of the people started to pray. They even have a prayer for Solar eclipses and another for Lunar ones. In India, pregnant women do not watch the eclipse because they believe they can have a malformation or lose the child. 

How surreal…

— The Pueblo Native Americans of New Mexico, who are from where they made that very famous series Breaking Bad, told me that they would not go to see the eclipse that was happening the next day. They experienced it as a spiritual matter of contemplation, not as a spectacle. And they also told me: and besides, we lose energy. It is a curious and accurate thing because, if the Sun goes away, we lose energy. 

I have heard him speak of the Aboriginal people of northern Australia.

— They give the Moon a masculine role and the Sun a feminine role, just the opposite of us. The Sun is agriculture, it is life, and it is order. And the Moon is more erratic, more of a hunter. And they don't see the eclipse because they see it as a moment of intimacy between the Sun and the Moon, between man and woman.

There are great ancient stories.

— Christopher Columbus was in Jamaica and had conflicts with the Taíno Indians of the Caribbean, who did not want to give him food. And he told them: if you don't give me food, my God will turn the Moon red, because he already knew there was an eclipse. It is documented from 1504. 

Since when do they know each other?

— The saros cycle, used to predict when eclipses will occur, is from Mesopotamia. Several centuries before Christ. Eclipses, in fact, have ended wars.

How?

— In 585 BCE, Herodotus states that Thales of Miletus predicted a solar eclipse during the war between the Medes and the Lydians. The war ended because they believed it was a divine sign. 

In China, history is more dramatic.

— An emperor executed the two royal astronomers because they did not predict the solar eclipse for him. He thinks that now we don't look at the sky, but before everything came from the firmament: agriculture, nautical activities…

Make us jealous: where are the best places you've seen an eclipse?

— Mongolia impressed me, for those plains, or the Libyan desert. Think that the eclipse is very different depending on the altitude. Antarctica is impressive. And an incredible place was to see it with the moai of Rapa Nui, from Easter Island.

We are not scared anymore, but what do the animals do?

— They notice it a lot. In Kenya we had a goat that got very scared at the time of the eclipse. Or in Australia the birds started to scream a lot.

Someone who knows and believes in science like you, what do they think of the trend with planets, horoscopes, and retrograde Mercury?

— It is ignorance, or wanting to take advantage of ignorance to do business. Like the flat-earthers.

But the flat-earther is more residual... and the fashion for horoscopes or astral charts is wider.

— There is no scientific evidence in this area. Therefore, it is entering the world of beliefs. And in the world of beliefs, anything goes. 

Where will you be on the 12th?

— I don't know yet. I'd like to see it in Vilanova, at my home, the problem is that if there's a south wind and clouds rise, it will go to the mountains and won't be visible. I think the most feasible thing is to go to the Gallocanta lagoon, between Teruel and Zaragoza, which is where the Aster astronomical group goes.