The UK and Europe recently experienced their most dramatic solar eclipse in nearly 30 years, with millions witnessing this once-in-a-generation event. Those watching from the UK enjoyed a partial eclipse that peaked shortly after 7:00 PM BST, when many observed over 90% of the Sun covered by the Moon. In contrast, parts of Greenland, Iceland, and Spain experienced the complete darkness of a total eclipse.
Large crowds gathered at viewing sites across the UK and Europe, reacting with gasps and cheers. Astronomy enthusiasts remarked that the event served as a reminder of how “amazing” the universe is. The path of the total eclipse began at the northern tip of Siberia in Russia, far from crowds and telescopes. It then curved around the Arctic Ocean, arriving in Iceland in the early evening before moving southward to share part of its wonder with the UK.
The partial eclipse started around 6:00 PM BST in northern Scotland and just before 6:20 PM on the south coast of England. Initially imperceptible, observers with cloud-free skies soon noticed the Moon gradually covering the Sun.
Much of central and southern England and Wales enjoyed perfect clear skies giving them an unrivalled view as the Moon moved slowly across the Sun over the course of an hour. Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland were cloudier, but it did not stop crowds turning out at famous landmarks across the country.
Some had been successful in getting hold of solar eclipse glasses, but the vital eye protectors were in short supply in the run-up to the event with opticians, hardware shops and bakeries all selling out. But that did not deter people – colanders, cereal boxes and pieces of paper were deployed to offer them a glimpse of the partial eclipse safely.
A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, blocking some or all of the Sun’s light and casting a shadow on our planet. As time ticked by, slowly but surely the Moon obscured more of the Sun – acting like a dimmer switch as it did so.
As seen from the UK, the Sun, Moon and Earth were not quite directly in line. The result was a partial eclipse, with the Moon covering about 90% of the Sun for most of the UK – the country’s most dramatic eclipse since 1999. In Cornwall, this was as high as 95%.
Parts of Spain got to experience something even more magical. At roughly 19:30 BST (20:30 local time), the Sun, Moon and Earth were perfectly aligned – a total eclipse. Chilean scientist Yasmin Catricheo travelled thousands of miles to A Coruña, northwest Spain, for the event.
In totality, everyone was cheering and sharing the excitement of what we were seeing. No words could describe the feeling,” she said. “The universe is amazing.” A total solar eclipse happens somewhere on Earth every 18 months or so. But they are much rarer for any given place, only occurring once in roughly 400 years.
Crowds along the path of the total eclipse in Spain were treated to that rare event – with the red glow of the Sun behind the Moon to go with it. The light coming from the darkness was the Sun’s corona – superheated jets of gas thrown thousands of miles out into space.
And for those looking closely, they may have seen small loops of pink gas called prominences following the Sun’s turbulent magnetic field. And then, the Moon began to reveal the Sun that it had hidden. The total eclipse lasted for less than two minutes – but for many it was unforgettable.
The fact that we get to experience a total eclipse at all is an incredible cosmological coincidence. The Sun is 150 million kilometres (93 million miles) away from the Earth – 400 times further away than the Moon. But because the diameter of the Moon is 400 times less than the Sun’s, they appear exactly the same size in our sky.
If the Moon were slightly smaller or its orbit were a bit further from the Earth, we would never see a total solar eclipse. We are about to enter a “golden age” of total solar eclipses between 2026 and 2028. Eclipse enthusiasts can travel around the world to witness the spectacle of three total solar eclipses in the next few years.
However, none of these eclipses will be visible from the UK. The best that the country will experience is a partial eclipse in 2027, with approximately 45% coverage in some regions. It will be decades before the UK sees a more significant solar eclipse than the one in 2027. That will occur in 2081, when up to 99% of the Sun will be covered. The next total solar eclipse visible in the UK will take place in 2090.
Source: BBC
