Did YOU see it? Stunning photos show the partial solar eclipse over the UK, Italy and Turkey this morning – with the sun appearing to have a ‘bite’ taken out of it
This morning, stargazers from around the world were treated to a partial solar eclipse.
This is when the moon blocks out part of the sun, as it moves in between our planet and the star.
The moon’s 27-day orbit around the Earth is tilted compared with the Earth’s orbit around the sun, so the three bodies do not line up like this every month.
When it does occur, the silhouette of our natural satellite blocks the view of some or all of the bright solar surface, and the sun appears to have a bite taken out of it.
The size of the blocked portion is dependent on where the viewer is on the Earth, with the best vantage point being Siberia in Russia, where the moon obscured 85 per cent of the sun.
For most of the UK, 15 per cent of the sun was blocked, although better views were received in Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, with up to 28 per cent covered.
A solar eclipse occurs in the daytime at new moon, when the moon is between Earth and the sun.
Because the moon ‘wobbles’ up and down, a new moon can happen without it blocking the sun (solar eclipse) or partially blocking the sun (partial solar eclipse).
The eclipse began at 10:08 BST in London today, with the maximum eclipse appearing at 11:13 BST, when the moon covered about a sixth of the sun.
Twitter users have been posting their images of the partial solar eclipse, many of which were viewed in cloudy skies which gave the moon an eerie glow.
Astronomers warned against looking directly at the sun during this morning’s event, which can cause permanent damage to the eyes.
Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society, said: ‘The simplest way to watch an eclipse is to use a pinhole in a piece of card.
‘An image of the sun can then be projected on to another piece of card behind it.’
You can experiment with the distance between the two pieces of card, however they will need to be at least 30 cm apart.
The next partial eclipse after this, visible from the UK, will be on March 29, 2025 when up to 47 per cent of the sun will appear to be covered by the moon.
This will be followed by another on August 12, 2026 where the UK will see up to 90 per cent of the sun obscured.
The UK won’t see a total solar eclipse – where the disk of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon – until September 23, 2090.
Source: daily mail
Did YOU see it? Stunning photos show the partial solar eclipse over the UK, Italy and Turkey this morning – with the sun appearing to have a ‘bite’ taken out of it