What will happen tomorrow morning, can I take a photo, will it go really dark or are we all going to die? These questions and more about Friday's Partial Solar Eclipse
Friday 20th March 2015 will bring a large partial eclipse over the UK
1. Are we seeing a total eclipse?
No, not this time. Back in 1999 was the last UK total eclipse with Cornwall seeing totality, where the moon completely covers the sun. This time only the Faeroe Islands and Svalbard where the polar bears live are in the totality zone.
2. Where’s the best view?
In terms of sun obscured the Scottish Isles will have over 97% of the sun blocked, which is the highest for the UK on Friday morning. It decreases slowly SE wards with between 85 and 90% over England, so around 9:30am there will be an eerie twilight
3. Is it going to go pitch black?
No, it is not going to suddenly go dark as night. This is a steady process over 2 hours from around 0830 til 10:30. There will just be less light in the sky, like an eerie twilight.The temperature can drop and it feels still and slightly weird. Nature also responds with certain flowers closing up for the night and birds beginning to roost in trees
How much where I am?
To find out how much of the sun is going to be blocked out at my location – see the NASA map and go mad with clicking all over the UK
Can I just use my sunglasses?
Don’t look directly at the sun. You won’t feel anything, but the damage happens all the same. Use special eclipse glasses, putting them on whilst looking away from the sun, or use a pin hole card and put filters over cameras and phones. Do not use sunglasses. For any solar selfies, be careful not to look backwards, even briefly and it could wreck the camera on your phone. Cardboard box way, looks silly but is safe, make one Blue Peter style this evening.
Where can I get those eclipse glasses?
Scottish Newspaper The Daily Record is giving them away today (in Morrisons) as was the Plymouth Herald. Most have been sold on eBay and Amazon so you’re a bit late. WH Smiths may still have a copy of Sky at Night Magazine with a free pair on the front. Do you still have a pair hiding at the back of a drawer from 1999?
What is the moon doing?
The moon is blocking the sun’s rays by getting directly in the way between the sun and the earth, just NW of the UK. The Moon is currently on an orbit very close to the earth and so is able to block all the sun light out during this eclipse. At other times when it is further away, you get an annular eclipse where a halo effect surrounds the moon
What is the British weather up to?
It’s looking cloudy in Scoltand, N.Ireland and far north England. Friday starts cloudy over SE Britain but the cloud will thin and break up. Cornwall, Wales, Midlands, Yorkshire and NW England likely to see clear skies and a super view - latest eclipse forecast here & check your local forecast here.
Are we all going to die?
I hope not, although the tabloids do promise that every other week, from one natural phenomenon or other. In history and for some cultures, the disappearance of the sun was seen as a bad omen or sign of terror. Giant animals were thought to have swallowed the sun and the earliest word for eclipse in Chinese, shih, means "to eat," Other peoples say the sun and the moon are fighting during an eclipse. So to stop them fighting, it is seen as a time of coming together and resolving old feuds and anger, which is much more positive. Is this a sign that the world will end, I'll update you on Saturday.
When is the next one?
If the cloud spoils your view or you just fancy seeing another eclipse, then the next Total Solar Eclipse is in this hemisphere, will be over N.America in August 2017 with high chances of clear skies. There are 2 before that in the southern hemisphere. The next total solar eclipse for the UK will be after most people's lifetime near the end of the century but there will be another large partial eclipse for the UK in 2026.
Enjoy
Top Image Michael Mortensen Wikimedia commons
end image Rhys Jones from Tromsø, Norway wikimedia
