health
Europe's total solar eclipse: the best place to see it and how to view it safely
Moon is due to pass directly between Earth and sun on Wednesday 12 August. Here’s all you need to know
TL;DR
- A total solar eclipse will be visible in parts of north and central Spain, slivers of Portugal, Greenland, and Iceland.
- The UK, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and northern Italy will experience a partial solar eclipse.
- A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun, blocking the sun's light.
- Total eclipses occur when viewers are in the moon's umbra (full shadow), and partial eclipses when in the penumbra (partial shadow).
- Wednesday's total eclipse is the first in mainland Europe in two decades, with the last one visible from the UK in 1999.
- The next total solar eclipse visible in the UK is not expected until 2090.
- Peak totality in Spain will be between 20:26 and 20:33 local time.
- In the UK, a partial eclipse in London will start at 18:17 BST, peak at 19:13 BST, and end at 20:06 BST.
- Safe viewing requires special eclipse glasses; looking directly at the sun can cause permanent eye damage.
- Pinhole projectors can be made using a colander or similar items to project the sun's image indirectly.
- Eclipses offer opportunities to study the sun's outer atmosphere (solar corona) and its relation to the sunspot cycle.
- Historically, eclipses have been used to test scientific theories, such as Einstein's theory of general relativity during a 1919 eclipse.
- A partial lunar eclipse, a 'blood moon,' will be visible in the UK on August 28th, following the solar eclipse.