A partial solar eclipse visible from the UK will take place on Tuesday. It will be visible from most of Europe, north Africa, the Middle East and western parts of Asia, but nowhere will there be a total solar eclipse.
From London, the eclipse begins at 10.08am BST. Over the next 50 minutes, the silhouette of the moon will slip across the top left-hand limb of the sun. At 10.59am, the maximum eclipse will occur, with 15.17% of the sun’s surface blacked by the moon. This will not result in any noticeable difference to daytime illumination levels.
Different parts of the world will see different percentages of the sun covered. The greatest eclipse extent occurs in parts of Russia, when more than 80% of the sun’s surface will be covered as the sun sets for the evening.
Most importantly, never use any optical device to look directly at the sun. Even looking with your naked eye can cause permanent damage to your sight. Use eclipse viewers that can be bought online, but make sure they display either the ISO 12312-2 safety standard, or are CE certified.
