Total Solar Eclipse - 20th March 2015

At around 9:30 am on 20th March, there will be a solar eclipse.
To see the full total eclipse, you would need to be in the Arctic Circle but from the UK, the eclipse will be around 90-95 %.

Here is a good site for info :

http://www.solareclipse2015.org.uk/

Check the 'local circumstances' section on the left side of the page to see the details for different cities. The further north, the better the view will be.

I expect there will be more about it in the news nearer the time.

I saw an ad for the eclipse coverage on BBC News today, showing everyone wearing cardboard eclipse-viewing glasses. I haven't see them for sale anywhere but luckily I have managed to find the pair I picked up for free in 1999.

There hasn't been much interest this time round from shops, probably because it isn't a full eclipse like the last time, but now people have realised it is happening, there is a last minute demand for them and they are listed for stupid prices on ebay :




An alternative is to make a pinhole box camera, and I found a simple video explaining how to build one :



One added hazard that wasn't around in 1999 is the mobile phone selfie craze. Quote from The Telegraph :

Quote:Camera phones did not exist during the last eclipse in 1999 but now millions are likely to be tempted to take a photograph of themselves during the rare astronomical alignment later this week.
The College of Optometrists has warned that taking pictures using an iPhone or camera can be as dangerous as looking directly at the Sun, which can burn the retina and cause blindness.
Even wearing sunglasses will not protect eyes against potential damage, and anyone attempting a selfie is advised to wear specialist shades which block out the dangerous rays and prevent solar maculopathy – the destruction of the centre of the retina caused by solar radiation.
Daniel Hardiman-McCartney, clinical adviser at the College of Optometrists said: “Taking a selfie could potentially put you at risk as you may end up accidentally looking directly at the Sun while aligning yourself and your phone.

remember the last one,i used a mig welding mask and was able to look directly at it,awesome sight

Some photos of the eclipse :

Some not so spectacular amateur ones, the only part of the sky that had no cloud.

As much as I was annoyed by the cloud cover, it did make it a lot easier to get a few pics. It was a bit eerie, cool though.

It was so cloudy here that all we got was an overcast morning. At 9.35 it looked like it was about to rain and a couple of nervous car drivers had their headlights on in the expectation some biblical evil was about to befall them. A big fuss over nothing