[ad_1]
Views of a partial solar eclipse will be somewhat ephemeral in parts of the UK due to cloudy skies, forecasters said.
But those in central and south-eastern England will have clear spells to attend the show, according to the Met Office. On Thursday morning, sky watchers will be able to see nearly a third of the sun obscured by the moon in what is called an annular eclipse.
An annular eclipse occurs when the sun and moon are exactly aligned with the Earth, but the apparent size of the moon is smaller than that of the sun. This causes the sun to appear as a very bright ring, or ring, in a phenomenon known as the Ring of Fire.
But weather permitting, observers in the UK and Ireland will see a crescent sun instead of a ring, as it will be a partial eclipse. The Met Office said parts of the UK will be cloudy, although most areas are expected to remain dry.
The “Ring of Fire” solar eclipse seen in the Boxing Day video
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: Thursday morning there will be more clouds than in recent days over the east, south-east and much of southern England, well that good breaks are likely with sunny periods. Similar conditions are likely over eastern and north-eastern Scotland, all of these areas having the best visibility of the solar eclipse.
There will be clear periods over much of central and south-eastern England. Much of the far southwest of England, Wales, Northern Ireland, western and central Scotland will have more cloud cover, and although this may s ‘Clear by day, it is likely that the visibility of the eclipse will be somewhat ephemeral.
The weather will be dry for many, especially in the eastern areas, while the western areas and the heights here are more likely to see light rain and drizzle.
Dr Emily Drabek-Maunder, astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, said the ring of fire would be visible from Russia, Greenland and northern Canada.
She said: From the UK, the annular solar eclipse will be a partial eclipse, meaning she will only see the moon pass in front of a small part of the sun.
Drabek-Maunder said the phenomenon would start at 10:08 a.m. in the UK on Thursday, with the maximum eclipse occurring at 11:13 a.m., when the moon covers nearly a third of the sun. The partial eclipse will end at 12:22 p.m.
Even though much of the sun’s disk will be covered, looking at the partially eclipsed sun without proper protection can cause serious and permanent damage to the eyes.
Drabek-Maunder said: The UK eclipse will only be visible with certain optical techniques and aids. Never look at the sun directly and never use standard sunglasses, it can cause serious damage to your eyes.
It is also not recommended to view the sun through binoculars, telescopes or a telephoto lens on an SLR camera.
She suggested using a simple pinhole projector, solar eclipse viewing goggles that can be purchased online, or special solar filters that can fit into telescopes, to observe the eclipse.
You can make a spotlight by drilling a small hole in a piece of card. Hold the card in the sun so the light shines through the hole and onto a piece of paper behind the card. You will be able to see the shape of the sun projected onto the piece of paper and see its shape change as the moon passes in front of the sun.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich is also broadcasting the eclipse live on its website and YouTube channel.
[ad_2]
picture credit