WARNING – NEVER look at the sun without approved eye protection. It can cause permanent damage to the eyes.
Total solar eclipses are rare! The last one in the UK was in 1999 and the next one will be in 2090.
Luckily we get partial solar eclipses a bit more frequently, and they can still be very dramatic.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes perfectly between the Sun and the Earth blocking the Sun’s light from getting to Earth. Even though the Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun they appear the same size in the sky because the Sun is 400 times further away than the Moon.
The last major partial eclipse was in 2015. My school in Glasgow had nearly 700 children turn up early to observe it, safely, from the playground. This is a sequence of photos I took of that eclipse.
The 12th August eclipse will start at about 6pm in the UK. The peak, about 95% coverage, will be about 7pm and it will finish about 8pm.
When you’re watching, even on a cloudy day, you will observe a significant change in temperature and if you are somewhere with birds they will all go silent thinking that night has come.
Find out more about Solar Eclipses here
Follow our instructions below to make your own safe solar eclipse viewer and enjoy this spectacular event.
WARNING – NEVER look at the sun without approved eye protection. It can cause permanent damage to the eyes.