Pakistan, Aug. 13 -- One of nature's greatest spectacles - a rare total solar eclipse - began casting its shadow on Wednesday, briefly turning day into night in Russia's remote Arctic north before heading towards mainland Europe.

The Moon first blotted out the Sun at the northernmost tip of mainland Russia at about 1700GMT, leaving only the shimmering glow of its outer corona, and eerie darkness.

As it passes down through parts of Greenland and Iceland, excitement built in Spain, where the eclipse's narrow path cuts diagonally from the northwestern Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean Sea, before being expected to fade at about 1830GMT.

Tourists and enthusiasts thronged normally quiet Spanish villages, as mainland Europe has not experie...