Millions Witness Deepest Partial Solar Eclipse Since 1999
British Isles experience celestial spectacle as public improvises viewing methods and anticipates Perseid meteor shower peak.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Callum Smith
The moon obscured over 90 per cent of the sun across much of the British Isles today.
Queues formed for eclipse glasses near Goring-by-Sea. The Royal Greenwich Observatory reported an unprecedented volume of online orders, with a spokesperson confirming both online and physical stores had sold out.
Despite the scarcity of official viewing equipment, many improvised. Glenda Whiles and David Hearn used a colander to view the eclipse from the South Downs.
Astronomers at the Royal Greenwich Observatory suggested household objects with small holes, such as a colander, could project an image of the partially eclipsed Sun. People in Great Bookham, Surrey, similarly improvised with colanders to watch the event unfold.
John Lewis reported a nearly 40% increase in colander sales compared to the previous year. This surge is attributed directly to the eclipse.
Veronica Orozco shared her experience: "It is my second solar eclipse. I was in Venezuela and I was young and I thought that the Sun would not come back. My dad said ‘it is science, of course it will come back.’ Now sitting here at the age of 41, it is still magical. I am sitting here with my neighbours and we have been telling each other ‘Happy Eclipse Day’."
Images of the eclipse were captured from Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. Parties, picnics, workshops, and talks marked the occasion across various locations.
The eclipse is understood to be the country's fullest for the next 54 years. The next total solar eclipse in the UK is not expected until 2090.
As the celestial focus shifts, the annual Perseid meteor shower is set to reach its peak on the night of August 12-13.