Stunning pictures and video of the partial solar eclipse - plus date of next solar eclipses visible in UK
These were some of the stunning views that astronomers caught of the partial solar eclipse in the UK.
More than 40,000 people watched a livestream hosted by University of Cambridge Astronomy, involving multiple astronomers around Cambridgeshire, which you can view below.
Paul Fellows, chairman of the Cambridge Astronomical Association, was among those taking part and took two of these images.
The livestream also explained more about eclipses and featured a presentation of historical reactions to them.
Solar eclipses are caused when the moon passes between the Sun and Earth. It is not safe to view them directly - looking at the Sun can permanently damage your eyes.
But virtual viewings, genuine solar eclipse glasses, indirect methods such as pinhole viewers and collanders can be used to observe the phenomenon.
In this instance, about 20 per cent of the Sun was covered.The eclipse began at about 10.10am until 12.25pm, and from Cambridgeshire, maximum coverage was achieved at about 11.15am - and thankfully the morning clouds cleared sufficiently for good views.
In some images, enormous magnetic storms were visible as ‘prominences’ on the edge of the Sun’s orb.
Dr Matt Bothwell, of the Institute of Astronomy, said: “What we’re seeing here are enormous magnetic storms on the Sun that are causing huge amounts of this burning hot plasma - about 6,000 degrees - to be blasted off into space. They look like little wisps from our point of view, but each one of these prominences, these wisps, is much bigger than planet Earth. We are seeing something of very, very extraordinary of power and ferocity.”
But if you missed the partial eclipse live, don’t despair.
There are others coming on the following dates:
- October 25, 2022: A partial solar eclipse. Dr Bothwell said it will be “not quite as good as this one”.
- March 29, 2022: A partial solar eclipse. This will be “somewhere between 40 and 50 per cent depending on where you are in the UK”, said Dr Bothwell.
- August 12, 2026: “The big one”, said Dr Bothwell, with 90-98 per cent coverage in the UK and 100 per cent - a total eclipse - if you travel to northern Spain.
Read more
Stunning shot captures Milky Way over Cambridge
Four stunning sights for stargazers
Stargazing with Cambridge Astronomical Association chairman Paul Fellows
Buying and using a telescope - advice from Paul Fellows, of Cambridge Astronomical Association
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