Total solar eclipse: What can I see in the UK? Timings and locations of what will be visible for Britons
A total solar eclipse will dazzle people today in what’s been described as “our planet’s greatest spectacle”.
The perfect alignment of Earth, the sun and the moon will be seen later – meaning people in North America will experience a total solar eclipse, which will plunge much of the continent into darkness.
But people in parts of the UK will be able to see a partial eclipse too.
So where can you see it, why is this one so special and is there anything you need to be aware of? Here’s everything to know.
In the UK
Although North America will enjoy the full spectacle of a total eclipse, people in parts of the UK will get to see a partial eclipse.
Dr Edward Bloomer, senior astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said the UK is only going to get “a small grazing” of the eclipse in the West and North of the country.
A map showing parts of the UK that will be able to see a partial eclipse
The start of the partial eclipse will be at 7.52pm (BST) and it will end by 8.51pm.
Here’s where you might see it – weather permitting:
In Glasgow, about 12% of the sun will be obscured at around 8pm (BST).
Edinburgh could see a 6% obscuration.
Liverpool will only see a maximum of 3.1% coverage at 7.57pm when the sun is right on the horizon – the window is very small as the start and end times are 7.55pm and 8pm.
Belfast will be treated to more of an eclipse with a maximum of 28.1% coverage at 8.10pm – the full window in which people might see it here is 7.55pm until 8.14pm.
Stornoway in Scotland will see 33.7% maximum coverage at 8.13pm. Here it will start at 7.53pm and end at 8.23pm.
Anything in London?
Sadly, no.
Dr Bloomer said: “I’m afraid the South and the East are out of luck this time around.
“We won’t ourselves get to see anything from the observatory, which we’re a bit sad about.”
However, you can watch our live coverage of the total eclipse on the Sky News channel, the Sky News app or on our YouTube channel.
NASA will also be providing a live stream of the celestial event, providing telescope views from several sites along the eclipse path.
You’ll be able to watch that on NASA’s official YouTube channel or on its site here.
In Ireland
As well as Belfast and Derry in Northern Ireland, people in the Republic of Ireland will have a chance to see the partial eclipse.
The best opportunities will be in the West. The town of Belmullet, in County Mayo on Ireland’s west coast, could be treated to an eclipse which covers 44% of the sun, according to UK Weather Updates on X.
The account also says Galway will be a good spot to catch the partial eclipse, where it’s estimated more than 35% of the sun will be covered.
It will also be possible to watch in Ireland’s capital, Dublin. But here it’s thought only around 15% of the sun will be covered.
In the US, Mexico and Canada
The US, Mexico and Canada will be in the totality path of the eclipse, meaning more than 31 million people across 15 states will be treated to the mesmerising sight of the sun being obscured by the moon.
A map showing how long the total eclipse will last in each area on the path of totality. Pic: AP
The time it will last in each area varies from just under four-and-a-half minutes in Zaragoza in Mexico to around a minute in Montreal, Canada.
According to NASA, the first location in North America where people will be able to view the eclipse in totality will be Mexico’s Pacific coast at around 11.07am PDT.
A map of the path of the eclipse across the United States
The eclipse’s path will then enter the United States in Texas and travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total eclipse, before the path moves on to Canada in Southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breto. Its last sighting will be in Newfoundland.
What exactly do people see during a full solar eclipse?
The event will see the sky fall dark as if it were dawn or dusk, and a halo form around the sun as its light is blocked out by the moon.
If there is clear weather, people along the eclipse’s path will see the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, which is usually obscured by the bright face of the sun, according to NASA.
NASA urges viewers to wear specialised eye protection during the eclipse, as it’s not safe to look at the sun apart from at the very brief moment when it’s completely blocked by the moon.
An American man stares at the sun during the 2017 eclipse. Pic: AP
“A total solar eclipse is one of the grandest sights in nature – and may be very rare anywhere in the galaxy,” Chris Lintott, professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford, told Sky News.
“I get a shiver down my spine every time,” he added.
Partial solar eclipses are known to make the sun appear to have had a bite taken out of it, because the moon only covers part of the sun rather than the entire thing.
A partial solar eclipse seen from Argentina in December 2020. Pic: AP
Why is this one so special?
This one’s a bit of an anomaly because total solar eclipses are only meant to happen once every 375 years in any one place in the world – yet people in the US state of Illinois will see it for the second time in seven years.
The 21,000-strong city of Carbondale in Illinois saw a total solar eclipse in August 2017 and the fact people there will now see one again so soon afterwards is incredibly rare.
Spectators watch the 2017 eclipse in Illinois. Pic: AP
It’s earned the state a new nickname – the ‘eclipse crossroads of America’.
“Southern Illinois is considered the eclipse crossroads of America because it was in the centreline for the path of totality in 2017 and will be again in 2024,” the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Why scientists are excited too
Both professional and amateur scientists plan to carry out experiments and observations as Earth falls dark.
NASA’s deputy chief Pam Melroy says it will give an “entirely different” opportunity to study the interaction between the Earth, moon and sun.
The US space agency and others will focus much of their work on observing the corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere, which can’t normally be seen because the sun is too bright.
Pic: Reuters
During an eclipse, though, the corona’s white halo can be seen bursting out from behind the shadow. It’s hundreds of times hotter than the sun’s surface and it’s the source of solar wind.
It’s also a complete enigma. Scientists still don’t know how the corona is heated to such extreme temperatures.
NASA’s scientists will be hoping to get more data on it, as well as answers to other questions when they send research planes as high as 50,000ft (9.5 miles) to conduct a series of experiments on 8 April.
Some of the things they’re hoping to observe include:
- How fast particles are moving when they are flung out into space
- Photographing in both infrared and visible light to try to identify new details in the middle and lower corona
- Using a spectrometer to study light from the corona, hopefully learning more about the temperature and chemical composition of the corona and the particles it emits
- Studying a dust ring around the sun. Dust is the leftover remnants from when the solar system was forming
- Searching for asteroids orbiting nearby.
Hundreds of citizen scientists are also expected to get involved in Monday’s eclipse, looking at things like the quietening of birds and other wildlife, the dip in temperature as the sun is blocked, and what effect there is on communications.
US university students will be releasing hundreds of weather balloons to monitor atmospheric changes.
Are there any health warnings?
Yes. You could permanently damage your eyes if you try to watch the eclipse with normal sunglasses.
If you are planning on looking directly at it, you need proper eclipse glasses, which are “thousands of times darker” than sunglasses, according to NASA.
But you need to make sure they work, as bogus retailers capitalise when an eclipse is due and you may be duped into buying a counterfeit pair.
The American Astronomical Society advises these three steps to check if your glasses are safe.
1. “Put them on indoors and look around. You shouldn’t be able to see anything through them, except perhaps very bright lights, which should appear very faint through the glasses. If you can see anything else, such as household furnishings or pictures on the wall, your glasses aren’t dark enough for solar viewing.”
2. “If your glasses pass the indoor test, take them outside on a sunny day, put them on, and look around again. You still shouldn’t see anything through them, except perhaps the Sun’s reflection off a shiny surface or a puddle, which again should appear very faint.”
3. “If your glasses pass that test too, glance at the Sun through them for less than a second. You should see a sharp-edged, round disk (the Sun’s visible “face”) that’s comfortably bright. Depending on the type of filter in the glasses, the Sun may appear white, bluish-white, yellow, or orange.”
If you feel your glasses pass all these tests, they are “probably safe”, says the AAS.
When will a full solar eclipse next be seen in the UK?
A partial eclipse will be viewed across 90% of the country in 2026, but it won’t be a total one until 2081 in the Channel Islands or 2090 in the South West.
The last full solar eclipse seen in the UK came in 1999, which was spotted over Cornwall and parts of Devon. Unfortunately, clouds covered it from view in most other areas it should have been spotted over.
Total solar eclipses generally occur every 18 months or so, but whether or not you can see one depends on where you are in the world and, of course, the weather. Partial ones take place between two and five times a year – with the same caveats.
This scathing report goes a long way to answer the UK COVID-19 Inquiry’s critics, who have consistently attacked it as a costly waste of time.
They tried to undermine inquiry chair Lady Hallet’s attempt to understand what went wrong and how we might do better, and portray it as a lame exercise that would achieve very little.
Well, we now know that Boris Johnson’s “toxic and chaotic” government could well have prevented at least 23,000 deaths had they acted sooner and with greater urgency.
Follow latest: All four UK governments ‘failed to appreciate’ scale of COVID pandemic threat
File Pic: PA
The response was “too little, too late”. And nobody in power truly understood the scale of the emerging threat or the urgency of the response it required.
The grieving families who lost loved ones in the pandemic want answers. They want names. And they want accountability.
But that is beyond the remit of this inquiry.
Read more:
‘Toxic and chaotic culture’ at centre of UK government during the pandemic
A timeline of the UK’s response to the pandemic
Everything you need to know about the COVID inquiry
The publication of the report into Module 2 of the inquiry will bring them no comfort, it may even cause them more distress.
But it will bring them closer to understanding why the UK’s response to this unprecedented health crisis was so poor.
Copies of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry’s findings into decisions made by former prime minister Boris Johnson and his advisers. Pic: PA
We can easily identify the “advisers and ministers whose alleged rule breaking caused huge distress and undermined public confidence”.
And we know who was in charge of the Department of Health and Social Care as it misled the public by giving the impression that the UK was well prepared for the pandemic when it clearly was not.
All four UK governments failed to appreciate the scale of the threat posed by COVID-19 or the urgency of the response the pandemic required, a damning report published on Thursday has claimed.
Baroness Heather Hallett, the chair of the inquiry, described the response to the pandemic as “too little, too late”.
Tens of thousands of lives could have been saved during the first wave of COVID-19 had a mandatory lockdown been introduced a week earlier, the inquiry also found.
Noting how a “lack of urgency” made a mandatory lockdown “inevitable”, the report references modelling data to claim there could have been 23,000 fewer deaths during the first wave in England had it been introduced a week earlier.
The UK government first introduced advisory restrictions on 16 March 2020, including self-isolation, household quarantine and social distancing.
Had these measures been introduced sooner, the report states, the mandatory lockdown which followed from 23 March might not have been necessary at all.
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All four UK govts ‘failed to appreciate’ scale of pandemic
COVID-19 first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019, and as it developed into a worldwide pandemic, the UK went in and out of unprecedented lockdown measures for two years starting from March 2020.
Lady Hallett admitted in her summary that politicians in the government and devolved administrations were forced to make decisions where “there was often no right answer or good outcome”.
“Nonetheless,” she said, “I can summarise my findings of the response as ‘too little, too late'”.
‘Toxic culture’ at the heart of UK government
The report said there was “a toxic and chaotic culture” at the heart of the UK government during the pandemic.
The inquiry heard evidence about the “destabilising behaviour of a number of individuals” – including former No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings.
It said that by failing to tackle this chaotic culture – “and, at times, actively encouraging it” – former PM Boris Johnson “reinforced a culture in which the loudest voices prevailed and the views of other colleagues, particularly women, often went ignored, to the detriment of good decision-making”.
‘Misleading assurances’
The inquiry found all four governments in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland failed to understand the urgency of response the pandemic demanded in the early part of 2020.
The report reads: “This was compounded, in part, by misleading assurances from the Department of Health and Social Care and the widely held view that the UK was well prepared for a pandemic.”
The report notes how the UK government took a “high risk” when it significantly eased restrictions in England in July 2020 – “despite scientific advisers’ concerns about the public health risks of doing so”.
Lady Hallett has made 19 key recommendations which, if followed, she believes will better protect the UK in any future pandemic and improve decision-making in a crisis.
Repeated failings ‘inexcusable’
In a statement following the publication of Thursday’s report, Lady Hallett said there was a “serious failure” by all four governments to appreciate the level of “risk and calamity” facing the UK.
She said: “The tempo of the response should have been increased. It was not. February 2020 was a lost month.”
Read more:
A timeline of the UK’s response to the pandemic
Lady Hallett said the inquiry does not advocate for national lockdowns, which she said should have been avoided if at all possible.
She said: “But to avoid them, governments must take timely and decisive action to control a spreading virus. The four governments of the UK did not.”
Lady Hallett said none of the governments were adequately prepared for the challenges and risks that a lockdown presented, and that many of the same failings were repeated later in 2020, which she said was “inexcusable”.
She added: “Each government had ample warning that the prevalence of the virus was increasing and would continue to do so into the winter months. Yet again, there was a failure to take timely and effective action.”
Fresh yellow weather warnings for ice have been issued for many areas of the UK, as some areas are threatened with blizzard conditions on Thursday.
An amber warning for snow – covering northeast England, including Scarborough, Whitby and parts south of Middlesbrough – is in force until 9pm on Thursday.
UK weather latest: Blizzard warning for amber area
The Met Office said there could be “significant snow accumulations” over the North York Moors and parts of the Yorkshire Wolds with up to 25cm (10ins) on hills above 100m (330ft).
“Gusty winds, giving occasional blizzard conditions, and perhaps a few lightning strikes, may accompany some of the showers, posing as additional hazards,” the warning added.
Some A-roads in North Yorkshire were reported to be “gridlocked”, according to Shingi Mararike, Sky News’ North of England correspondent, but he added gritters are out to deal with the bad weather.
A car overturns on the A19 near Sunderland. Pic: PA
The Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry has been coated in snow. Pic: PA
Snowy conditions near Skipsea in the the East Riding of Yorkshire. Pic: PA
Snow ploughs have been hard at work on the North York Moors and a thick coat of snow is covering the A169 between Pickering and Whitby.
Dozens of schools have been closed in North Yorkshire and Scotland.
Amber warning for snow in parts of northeast England and south of Middlesbrough until 9pm on Thursday. Pic: Met Office
A number of yellow warnings are also in force for snow and/or ice across large parts of Britain.
In many of the warnings issued by the Met Office, there are concerns that where “showers persist and/or snow partially thaws and then refreezes overnight, this will bring a risk of ice”.
Weather warnings in the UK for snow and ice across various regions on Thursday (left) and ice on Friday (right). Pic: Met Office
Jo Wheeler, Sky’s weather presenter, said clear skies will allow temperatures to tumble again as Thursday night approaches, “with an early and severe frost expected, and the associated risk of icy stretches on untreated roads and pavements”.
Coldest night so far
Overnight Wednesday into Thursday was the coldest of the season so far, according to the Met Office.
Temperatures dropped as low as -6.6C (20F) in Benson, Oxfordshire. There were two -6.4C (20F) temperatures recorded in Wales (in Sennybrigde) and in Scotland (Dundreggan).
While in Northern Ireland it fell to -2.8C (27F) in Altnahinch Filters.
Cold health alerts in force
As well as the one amber weather warning covering parts of the UK, there are two amber health alerts in place in three areas of England from the UK’s Health Security Agency.
An amber health alert is designed to prepare health services, including for the potential for a rise in deaths among the over-65s and people with health conditions.
The alerts are in effect in North East and North West England, along with the Yorkshire and the Humber region until 8am on 22 November.
Yellow cold-health alerts are in place for the rest of England and also expire at the same point.
Walk like a penguin
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) is recommending that people should walk like penguins to avoid dangerous slips and trips on icy surfaces.
The technique, which went viral in previous winters, is back for 2025 as part of the health board’s winter campaign.
Laura Halcrow, falls prevention lead at NHSGGC, said: “It might look funny, but waddling really works. A slip on ice can cause painful injuries and even hospital stays, especially for older people.”
Turning wet and windy
Sky’s weather presenter, Jo Wheeler, adds that the forecast is set to change this weekend.
“We’ll trade the cold sunshine and wintry showers for wet and windy conditions with rain turning heavy as it crosses the country on Saturday.”
“The British weather, fickle as always, looks like delivering a brief change to this milder westerly flow followed by an equally quick change back to a chilly northerly flow.”
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