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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Josh Salisbury

Solar eclipse: Moon blocks part of the Sun over London and the UK

The partial solar eclipse over Stoodley Pike in West Yorkshire

(Picture: PA)

The only solar eclipse visible in the UK this year has occurred, which was visible in London shortly after 10am.

In London, the partial solar eclipse began at 1.08am, and the eclipse peaked at 10.59am. It was visible across the UK until about midday.

Around 15% of the Sun was blocked out by the eclipse as the Moon passed between it and the Earth.

In the UK, among the best views was seen in the Shetland Isles, while abroad, observers in western Siberia, Russia, got the best view of the eclipse, where the Moon obscured around 85% of the Sun.

The solar eclipse as seen in Salzburg, Austria (APA/AFP via Getty Images)

Speaking before the event, Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society, said the eclipse will cause the Moon to block the view of “some or all of the bright solar surface", and the Sun will “appear to have a bite taken out of it".

Jake Foster, astronomer at Royal Observatory Greenwich, added: "The eclipse will be visible across the whole of the UK, as well as large parts of Europe and Central and South Asia.

“The amount of obscuration you’ll see will depend on where you are on the Earth."

He said: “Even though a portion of the Sun’s light will be blocked, it will not get noticeably darker in the UK during the eclipse.”

Experts had advised those wanting to see the phenomenon that it was important not to attempt to view the eclipse with the naked eye or via binoculars or a telescope.

They had advised using a pinhole in a piece of card to allow an image of the Sun to be projected onto another piece of card behind it, and thereby avoiding any damage to the eyes.

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