TechSolar EclipseSpaceAstronomy

Friday Solar Eclipse Pictures: Best Images From Around The UK

Solar Eclipse Pictures: Best Images From Around The UK
Thomas Tamblyn
|

Millions have turned out to witness Britain enter the twilight zone of a near-total solar eclipse, despite much of the country being covered by cloud

Some lucky sky-watchers got to experience the full extent of the event as the moon crossed in front of the sun, covering up to 97% of its face.

One of the best vantage points was in South Gloucestershire, where amateur astronomer Ralph Wilkins described the "eerie" feeling as a chilly gloom descended and shadows sharpened.

Elsewhere there were reports of birds "going crazy" and flocking to trees, confused by the fading light.

For much of the UK, the eclipse revealed itself as an abnormal level of darkness at 9.30am in the morning while the sun remained hidden behind a blanket of cloud.

But there were pockets of clear skies over Wales, parts of the West Country and the Midlands, and eastern Scotland around Edinburgh.

Solar Eclipse 2015
(01 of40)
Open Image Modal
Solar Eclipse in Penzance, Cornwall, Britain (credit:Rex)
(02 of40)
Open Image Modal
PENZANCE, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 20: The moon crosses the sun causing a partial eclipse, seen here above St Michael's Mount on March 20, 2015 near Penzance, England. People in the United Kingdom experienced a partial solar eclipse today, as the moon covered between 85-98 per cent of the sun. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) (credit:Peter Macdiarmid via Getty Images)
(03 of40)
Open Image Modal
People watch in darkness during the totality of a solar eclipse on as seen from a hill beside a hotel on the edge of the city overlooking Torshavn, the capital city of the Faeroe Islands, Friday, March 20, 2015. For months, even years, accommodation on the remote Faeroe Islands has been booked out by fans who don't want to miss an almost three-minute-long astronomical sensation. Now they just have to hope the clouds will blow away so they can fully experience Friday's brief total solar eclipse. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(04 of40)
Open Image Modal
People watch in darkness during the totality of a solar eclipse on as seen from a hill beside a hotel on the edge of the city overlooking Torshavn, the capital city of the Faeroe Islands, Friday, March 20, 2015. For months, even years, accommodation on the remote Faeroe Islands has been booked out by fans who don't want to miss an almost three-minute-long astronomical sensation. Now they just have to hope the clouds will blow away so they can fully experience Friday's brief total solar eclipse. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(05 of40)
Open Image Modal
Visitors try on their solar glasses in preparation to view the solar eclipse in Regent's Park in London, Friday, March 20, 2015. Unfortunately due to heavy cloud cover, the eclipse was not visible in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(06 of40)
Open Image Modal
An astronomer sets up equipment in preparation to view the solar eclipse in Regent's Park in London, Friday, March 20, 2015. Unfortunately due to heavy cloud cover, the eclipse was not visible in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(07 of40)
Open Image Modal
A dog is given protective glasses by its owner prior to the solar eclipse in Regent's Park in London, Friday, March 20, 2015. Unfortunately due to heavy cloud cover, the eclipse was not visible in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(08 of40)
Open Image Modal
A partial solar eclipse of the sun is visible in Plymouth, south-west England on March 20, 2015. AFP PHOTO / GEOFF CADDICK (Photo credit should read GEOFF CADDICK/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:GEOFF CADDICK via Getty Images)
(09 of40)
Open Image Modal
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 20: Students from Saint Ursula's Covent Secondary School in Greenwich pose for a photograph wearing protective glasses at the Royal Observatory Greenwich on March 20, 2015 in London, England. Hundreds of people gathered outside The Royal Observatory Greenwich hoping see a near total solar eclipse. The solar eclipse, which occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, started at 08:24 GMT and continues until 10:41 GMT, with the maximum obscuration of the Sun happening at 09:31 GMT. The last significant solar eclipse visible from the UK was on 11 August, 1999. (Photo by Rob Stothard/Getty Images) (credit:Rob Stothard via Getty Images)
(10 of40)
Open Image Modal
NORTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 20: A rare partial solar eclipse is seen over Northamptonshire on March 20, 2015 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) (credit:Clive Mason via Getty Images)
(11 of40)
Open Image Modal
A partial solar eclipse of the sun is visible next to the iconic Liver Bird on top of the Liver Building in Liverpool, north-west England on March 20, 2015. AFP PHOTO / PAUL ELLIS (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PAUL ELLIS via Getty Images)
(12 of40)
Open Image Modal
The eclipse of the sun from Plymouth, Devon, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Wire)
(13 of40)
Open Image Modal
People watch an eclipse of the sun outside the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre, in Nottingham, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Simon Cooper/PA Wire)
(14 of40)
Open Image Modal
An eclipse of the sun over Northumberland, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
(15 of40)
Open Image Modal
An eclipse of the sun over Northumberland, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
(16 of40)
Open Image Modal
An eclipse of the sun over Northumberland, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
(17 of40)
Open Image Modal
Engineers monitor the computer screens at the 50 Hertz Transmission Control Center in Neuenhagen, Germany, 30 March 2015. The transmission provider is preparing to compensate the expected power loss during the partial solar eclipse. Photo: Bernd Settnik/dpa (credit:Bernd Settnik/DPA)
(18 of40)
Open Image Modal
Mike Garratt a member of the Mid Kent Astronomical Society sets up his equipment beneath the cloud covered sky on the coast in Grain, Kent, during the eclipse. (credit:Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
(19 of40)
Open Image Modal
People watch as an eclipse of the sun begins over the Eden Project near St Austell in Cornwall, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Ben Birchall/PA Wire)
(20 of40)
Open Image Modal
A homemade pin hole camera at Clifton Observatory in Bristol, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Claire Hayhurst/PA Wire)
(21 of40)
Open Image Modal
Local astronomer Barry Chuter looking through his lens in cloudy Eastbourne East Sussex, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Tom Pugh/PA Wire)
(22 of40)
Open Image Modal
Cloud covers an eclipse of the sun from Plymouth in Devon, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Wire)
(23 of40)
Open Image Modal
An eclipse of the sun over Northumberland, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
(24 of40)
Open Image Modal
An eclipse of the sun from Plymouth in Devon, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Wire)
(25 of40)
Open Image Modal
A homemade pin hole camera at Clifton Observatory in Bristol, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Claire Hayhurst/PA Wire)
(26 of40)
Open Image Modal
An eclipse of the sun from Plymouth in Devon, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Wire)
(27 of40)
Open Image Modal
Members of the Mid Kent Astronomical Society, Arthur Fentamen (left) Mike Garratt and Bob Tollervey (right) view the cloud covered sky on the coast in Grain, Kent, during the eclipse. (credit:Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
(28 of40)
Open Image Modal
People use blankets to keep warm as they wait for the solar eclipse (credit:Tahira Mirza)
(29 of40)
Open Image Modal
A crowd gathers at Primrose Hill (credit:Tahira Mirza)
(30 of40)
Open Image Modal
EDS NOTE: SOLAR FILTER HAS BEEN USED An eclipse of the sun begins over Northumberland, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
(31 of40)
Open Image Modal
An eclipse of the sun from Carlton Hill in Edinburgh, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Danny Lawson/PA Wire)
(32 of40)
Open Image Modal
EDS NOTE: SOLAR FILTER HAS BEEN USED People watch as an eclipse of the sun begins over the Eden Project near St Austell in Cornwall, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Ben Birchall/PA Wire)
(33 of40)
Open Image Modal
Students Greg Robertson, 19, and Sam Firminger, 20, wait for the eclipse at Clifton Observatory in Bristol. (credit:Claire Hayhurst/PA Wire)
(34 of40)
Open Image Modal
An eclipse of the sun begins over Northumberland, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
(35 of40)
Open Image Modal
An eclipse of the sun begins over the Eden Project near St Austell in Cornwall, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Ben Birchall/PA Wire)
(36 of40)
Open Image Modal
An eclipse of the sun begins over the Eden Project near St Austell in Cornwall, as a near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions today, depending on luck and the fickle British weather. (credit:Ben Birchall/PA Wire)
(37 of40)
Open Image Modal
People wait for the start of a total solar eclipse from a hill beside a hotel overlooking the sea and Torshavn, the capital city of the Faeroe Islands, Friday, March 20, 2015. For months, even years, accommodation on the remote Faeroe Islands has been booked out by fans who don't want to miss an almost three-minute-long astronomical sensation. Now they just have to hope the clouds will blow away so they can fully experience Friday's brief total solar eclipse. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(38 of40)
Open Image Modal
People wait for the start of a total solar eclipse on a hill beside a hotel overlooking the sea and Torshavn, the capital city of the Faeroe Islands, Friday, March 20, 2015. For months, even years, accommodation on the remote Faeroe Islands has been booked out by fans who don't want to miss an almost three-minute-long astronomical sensation. Now they just have to hope the clouds will blow away so they can fully experience Friday's brief total solar eclipse. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(39 of40)
Open Image Modal
A visitor waits for the start of a total solar eclipse on a hill beside a hotel overlooking Torshavn, the capital city of the Faeroe Islands, Friday, March 20, 2015. For months, even years, accommodation on the remote Faeroe Islands has been booked out by fans who don't want to miss an almost three-minute-long astronomical sensation. Now they just have to hope the clouds will blow away so they can fully experience Friday's brief total solar eclipse. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(40 of40)
Open Image Modal
Crowds gather at Primrose Hill in London (credit:Tahira Mirza)

Around the UK, the proportion of the sun covered by the moon increased towards the north, ranging from 84% in London to 89% in Manchester, 93% in Edinburgh and 97% in Lerwick in the Shetland Isles.

Times also varied. In overcast London, the eclipse began at 8.24am, and reached its maximum extent at 9.31am. For observers in Edinburgh, it started at 8.30am and peaked at 9.35 am.

The last solar eclipse of such significance occurred on August 11 1999, and was "total" - with 100% of the Sun covered - when seen from Cornwall.

READ MORE:

The last time the UK experienced a solar eclipse was in 1999 and there won't be another total solar eclipse returning to the UK until 2090.

The UK will only see what's known as a partial solar eclipse with those hoping to see day turning to night heading to the Faroe Islands and Svalbard where 100 per cent of the light will be removed.

Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip