Britain will see a partial solar eclipse on Wednesday, August 12, with up to 96 per cent of the sun obscured as the moon passes in front of it. The UK will not be in the path of totality, and the next eclipse this deep will not be visible from Britain until 2050, while a total eclipse will not be seen from the UK until September 23, 2090.
The display will begin shortly after 18:00 BST, though the exact timing depends on location. Maximum coverage will follow roughly an hour later, briefly dimming the evening light, before the eclipse ends just after 20:00 BST.
When and where to see the eclipse
First contact, the moment the moon's shadow first touches the sun, begins at 18:06 in Glasgow and Edinburgh, 18:13 in Manchester and Liverpool, 18:15 in Birmingham, 18:17 in London, Bristol and Cardiff, and 18:18 in Cornwall. Viewers with proper eye protection will see a small bite disappear from the sun's right-hand corner before it spreads across most of the disc.
Greatest coverage, when only a thin inverted crescent remains, arrives at 19:05 in Glasgow and Edinburgh, 19:10 in Manchester and Liverpool, 19:11 in Birmingham, 19:12 in London, Bristol and Cardiff, and 19:16 in Cornwall. According to timing tables, the eclipse then ends between 20:00 in Edinburgh and 20:10 in Truro, with most other locations finishing around 20:04 to 20:06. The sky will not go fully dark, but light may look subdued, colours flatter, shadows sharper, and the temperature could dip slightly.
How much of the sun will disappear
Dr Megan Argo, an astrophysicist at the University of Lancaster, told the Daily Mail: 'From the UK we'll see a deep partial eclipse rather than a total eclipse, with just over 90 per cent of the Sun covered in many locations. Even though the sky won't go completely dark, it's still an unusual and memorable sight, and it's set to be one of the best partial eclipses visible from the UK for many years.'
Coverage will be deepest in the southwest. Bishop Rock in the Isles of Scilly will see the most of any UK location, at 96.5 per cent, followed by Penzance at 95.8 per cent, Falmouth at 95.4 per cent, Plymouth at 94.6 per cent and Exeter at 94 per cent. Cardiff will reach 93.2 per cent, Bristol 92.9 per cent and Oxford 91.9 per cent. Land's End and Lizard Point on the mainland will both see over 95 per cent obscured.
London will see 91.4 per cent and Birmingham 91.8 per cent, with Manchester and Edinburgh both roughly 91 per cent. Inverness will see just over 90 per cent, and even the Shetland Isles will see 88 per cent of the sun vanish. Dr Argo said anyone wanting to see full totality would need to 'plan a trip.'
Dr Argo said: 'You will be able to view the total eclipse as it passes across Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean and northern Spain.'
How to get the best view
Because the eclipse falls so late in the day, the sun will be very low on the western horizon by 20:00 BST, so even small houses, trees or a low hill could block the view. Anyone determined not to miss it should scout their intended spot in advance, since the sun sets in a slightly different position each day and a good view earlier in the year may no longer work.
It is not safe to look directly at the sun at any point during the eclipse, and doing so through a telescope or binoculars without a certified solar filter can cause instant, irreparable eye damage.
How to watch safely
Dr Argo said: 'The safest way for the public to enjoy the eclipse is to view it indirectly. Standing beneath a leafy tree creates hundreds of tiny images of the Sun on the ground, which gradually change into crescents as the eclipse progresses. The same effect works with a kitchen colander or a simple homemade pinhole camera.'
Specialist eclipse glasses allow direct viewing for longer. Buyers should look for lenses bearing the ISO 12312-2 safety standard and purchase from a reputable retailer to avoid fakes. Glasses should never be used if the lenses are scratched or punctured, and children should be helped to fit theirs properly. Dark sunglasses, smoked glass or homemade filters are not safe substitutes.
Viewers should look away from the sun before removing their glasses. Those who cannot get outside, or whose view is blocked by bad weather, can watch a livestream provided by the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
What causes a solar eclipse
Dr Shyam Balaji, an astrophysicist at King's College London, told the Daily Mail: 'During a total solar eclipse, the moon's orbit puts it directly in front of the sun. This obscures the sunlight that can pass directly towards the Earth, enabling us to see just the corona of the sun, which is the outer rim.'
Solar eclipses happen only about once every 18 months, because the moon's orbit is tilted roughly five degrees relative to the plane on which Earth travels around the sun. It is only through cosmic coincidence that eclipses appear as they do at all: the moon is about 400 times smaller than the sun, but also about 400 times closer to Earth, allowing it to obscure the sun almost perfectly, something unique in the solar system.
Perseid meteor shower after sunset
The eclipse coincides with the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks on August 12 and 13 with up to 100 shooting stars an hour. The shower is caused by debris left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle.
Dr Balaji said: 'The best place to view the Perseid meteor shower is in the North East near the constellation Perseus. While you can look at the whole sky and are likely to see a meteor, that's the target location in order to get the best viewing experience.'
No special equipment is needed. Dr Balaji said: 'For me personally, the best way to view the meteor shower is just with your naked eye because of the speed with which they move.'
