Hot on the heels of yesterday’s total lunar eclipse, a partial solar eclipse will be visible from the UK on the morning of 4 January 2011. The next solar eclipse visible from the UK will not be until 20 March 2015.
The partially-eclipsed Sun will rise in the south-east a little after 08.00 and the eclipse will end around 09:30. The greatest eclipse will be seen from northern Sweden at 08.50.
The table below shows details of eclipse times and magnitudes for various UK cities:
| City | Max. eclipse | Obscuration | Magnitude | Eclipse ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 08:12 | 66.7% | 74.7% | 09:31 |
| Norwich | 08:14 | 68.9% | 76.6% | 09:34 |
| Birmingham | 08:20 | 64.4% | 72.8% | 09:30 |
| Manchester | 08:27 | 60.7% | 69.7% | 09:31 |
| Glasgow | 08:49 | 38.8% | 50.4% | 09:33 |
Eclipse details courtesy of Fred Espinak (NASA)
The best viewing locations with longest viewing time, greatest obscuration and greatest magnitude are in southern and eastern UK, declining towards the north and west.
Viewing the eclipse
WARNING: never look at the Sun directly through an optical instrument such as telescope or binoculars – it can result in permanent blindness. It is also dangerous to look at a bright Sun with the naked eye. Do not use sunglasses, polaroid filters, smoked glass etc to look at the Sun.
The safest way to view an eclipse is via optical projection, such as a pinhole projector. The following links from Exploratorium explain how to make two kinds of projector and also how to obtain safe filters:
Image: Partial solar eclipse, 3 October 2005, taken through a solar
filter. Mike Dryland, Flamsteed Astronomy Society
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