Up to 95% of the sun will be obscured by the moon in parts of the UK on Wednesday night, in what will be the country's fullest solar eclipse for the next 54 years. According to Royal Museums Greenwich, this week's partial solar eclipse will be the most coverage seen from the UK and Ireland since the 1999 eclipse.
A once-in-a-lifetime event
Reykjavik in Iceland and Spanish cities A Coruna, Oviedo, Zaragoza, Bilbao and Valencia will see a total eclipse on Wednesday, in which the moon fully obscures the sun. Anyone hoping to view the eclipse is being urged to take care, and to only view it safely to avoid damaging your eyes.
Imo Bell, planetarium astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said: “It’s not a total eclipse, but over 90% is really exciting. We’re not going to get one this good for a really long time. So, it’s important not to miss it, and to be prepared.”
How to view safely
Bell warned: “You can’t just go out and expect to have a look, because it’s really dangerous for your eyes. So, you can use solar eclipse glasses, which are very, very different from sunglasses – they block out so much light that you can’t see anything through them except the Sun, because that’s how much light they need to block for the damaging light of the Sun to be safe to view.”
She added: “Ideally a solar telescope is an amazing way to witness it, and if you don’t have one of them then you can look into whether your local astronomy society is doing any events. And if all else fails, you can project the image of the eclipse using a household item like a colander which has lots of holes in – point the colander towards the Sun with your back facing it, and in the shadow of the colander you’ll be able to see the eclipse in the holes, which is really cool.”
Viewing times in Greater Manchester
In Greater Manchester, 91.40% of the sun will be obscured by the moon during maximum. The eclipse will start in Greater Manchester at 6.13pm, with maximum at 7.10pm. The partial eclipse will end at 8.03pm.
According to the latest Met Office forecast, there should be a good chance of seeing the eclipse. Wednesday will be a hot and dry day in Manchester with clear skies for most of the day and evening. It may start clouding over after 8pm. The sun should be clear in the sky throughout the solar eclipse, although will be low to the west, as the sun will not set in Manchester until 8.43pm on Wednesday.
A Met Office spokesperson said: “With clear skies forecast across much of the UK, conditions should be more or less perfect for many to experience the partial solar eclipse. The north and west of the country are most likely to struggle with cloud cover when viewing the eclipse on Wednesday evening, particularly across Northern Ireland and western Scotland. The rest of Scotland and northern England may also see a good deal of high-level cloud, making skies rather hazy. The best opportunities for viewing the eclipse are likely to be south of a line from Aberystwyth to Lincoln.”
