Revealed: the 9 towns and cities in Britain and Ireland where you can see the solar eclipse next week
Next week, lucky people in the US will be treated to one of the most spectacular sights in the solar system: a total solar eclipse.
And if you’re in Britain, you’ll be happy to know that you may not have to travel across the pond to catch a glimpse of this incredible natural phenomenon.
On April 8, a handful of towns and cities in Britain and Ireland will be able to see a partial solar eclipse just before sunset.
Eagle-eyed viewers in Dublin, Belfast, Londonderry, Glasgow and Aberdeen will have the chance to see the astronomical phenomenon, according to UK Weather Updates.
“Although parts of Britain and Ireland will also be able to see it, the window of opportunity will be very short as the eclipse will occur at sunset, shortly before the sun sets over the horizon,” it explained on X (formerly Twitter) .
This week, on April 8, the sun and moon will line up perfectly for a total solar eclipse that will be visible over the US and Mexico (file photo)
Although Britain and Ireland won’t see a total solar eclipse, some cities will be able to see the sun partially eclipsed from 7:52pm BST – just before sunset. On this map, the more purple areas indicate where the eclipse will be more visible
An eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, casting its shadow on the planet’s surface.
From a vantage point on Earth, it appears as if the sun disappears behind a dark shadow.
For those directly in the path of the eclipse’s shadow, next week will be an incredible opportunity to see a rare ‘ring of fire’ eclipse.
Because the moon is at its furthest point from the Earth, called the apogee, it will not completely obscure the sun, leaving a bright ‘diamond ring’ around the edge.
However, this ‘annular’ solar eclipse will only be visible to those directly under the shadow of the moon, which will travel over America and Mexico.
For anyone on the edges of the eclipse path, which includes parts of Britain and Ireland, observers will only see the sun obscured somewhat.
UK Weather Updates, an amateur weather enthusiast from Wakefield, shared an overview of where this will be visible from Britain.
The partial eclipse over Britain will begin at 7:52 PM BST at the Hevda Stack, a mountain peak in the far north of the Shetland Islands.
The last place the eclipse will be visible is near Rockall, an uninhabitable granite islet in the North Atlantic Ocean, at 8:51 PM BST.
On X, formerly Twitter, an account called UK Weather Updates shared a list of cities in Britain and Ireland where a partial solar eclipse will occur on April 8.
Since sunset over Britain and Ireland takes place around 7:38 PM BST, this means that only a few places will get the chance to see a partial solar eclipse at all.
UK Weather Updates added: ‘Western parts of Ireland are most likely due to a later sunset.’
Professor Don Pollacco, an astronomer from Warwick University, says: ‘TSEs (total solar eclipses) occur on average about every 18 months, but the viewing path to see the entire total solar eclipse is extremely narrow, around 80 miles.
“The path of totality begins in the South Pacific and runs through Mexico and up through the United States before ending in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Ireland.”
The eclipse’s path begins over the Pacific Ocean and runs eastward across the US, ending over the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland
Professor Pollacco added: ‘From Britain and Ireland you will see a partial solar eclipse just before sunset, with about 20-30% of the sun being obscured by the moon.’
The town of Belmullet will have the most coverage in Britain and Ireland, with a 44 percent blackout.
In Britain and Ireland this is followed by Galway with 35 percent, Londonderry with 21 percent, Belfast with 17 percent and Dublin with 15 percent eclipse.
In Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Scotland will have the best views of the eclipse, although the sun may already be setting by the time the eclipse begins.
In Glasgow, 11.2 percent of the sun will be blacked out, in Edinburgh 6.2 percent and in Aberdeen 4.3 percent.
In England the eclipse will be even less noticeable, with just 0.64 percent coverage in Liverpool as of 7:57 PM BST.
As this map shows, cities further west of the country will see slightly more of the eclipse, while London and other cities in the east will not see the eclipse at all.
If you plan to view the solar eclipse, make sure you use proper safety equipment, such as eclipse glasses or a pinhole camera (file photo)
If you are going to view the solar eclipse, it is absolutely essential that you do so safely with the right equipment.
Looking directly at the sun can be dangerous under any circumstances and you should ensure that you are protected from eye damage.
Professor Pollacco adds: ‘Without protection you will, at best, damage your eyes or possibly go blind.’
To view the solar eclipse safely, you can use eclipse glasses that reduce the sun’s brightness to safe levels and are widely available online.
Alternatively, you can make a simple pinhole camera to project an image of the sun onto a surface.
In bright conditions, even a household colander can work, projecting the image of the sun through each of the holes.
To do this, place your back to the sun and hold the pinhole camera or colander in the light to project the sun onto the ground in front of you.
If you have a telescope or binoculars, make sure they are equipped with appropriate solar filters to avoid immediately damaging your eyes.