Solar eclipse 2021 - as it happened: ‘Ring of fire’ appears in UK and US skies
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The world has been treated to an annular solar eclipse, or the “ring of fire”.
The Moon moved in front of the Sun and blocked out most of its light, leaving only a blazing circle around it.
It was visible in some form across the east coast of the US, most of Europe including the UK and Ireland, and northern Asia. Not everyone got the full celestial sight – in those places it will be partial, and the Sun will appear as a crescent in the sky – but lots of people will were able to see some of it.
It began at before sunrise on the east coast of the US, and so wasalready be happening when the sun comes up in the sky. In the UK, the maximum eclipse happened just before noon.
As ever, the most important warning was never to look at it directly: without equipment such as eclipse glasses, the light could do substantial and permanent damage to your eyes.
Time of maximum eclipse across the US
Here’s a helpful list showing when the maximum eclipse will happen in cities across the US this morning. (This is, of course, limited to those that can see it; on the west coast, there will be no sign there ever was an eclipse.)
Eclipse rises in New York
If the Sun partially obscured by the Moon isn’t enough for you – then how about them both partially obscured by some other iconic sights?
How to watch safely
Here’s a reminder, from the Press Association, about how to look at today’s eclipse – and what not to do:
Even though a large part of the solar disc will be covered, looking at the partially eclipsed sun without appropriate protection can cause serious and permanent damage to the eyes.
Emily Drabek-Maunder, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said: “The eclipse from the UK will only be visible with certain techniques and optical aids.
“Never look at the sun directly or use standard sunglasses - it can cause serious harm to your eyes.”
It is also not wise not to look at the sun through binoculars, telescopes or a telephoto lens on an SLR camera.
Dr Drabek-Maunder suggests using a simple pinhole projector, solar eclipse viewing glasses - which can be purchased online - or special solar filters which can fit on telescopes, in order to observe the eclipse.
She said: “You can make a projector by poking a small hole into a piece of card.
“Hold the card up to the sun so that light shines through the hole and on to a piece of paper behind the card.
“You will be able to see the shape of the sun projected on to the piece of paper and watch its shape change as the moon passes in front of the sun.”
Eclipse reaches its maximum in parts of the UK
It’s 11.03, which means that the eclipse is reaching its maximum in parts of the UK. Penzance is at its peak, now – though it moves north and east over the country, so in places like Inverness and Newcastle, the maximum won’t arrive for another 15 minutes or so.
Live stream offers chance to peer through the clouds
Once again, if the weather or anything else is ruining your view, you can give the live stream a try. Click here to watch.
The maximum eclipse has now passed over the UK. (Or the mainland UK; Shetland still has it to come, at 27 past.)
But you still have an hour or so left to get a peek at it, before it ends in about an hour.
Images show crescent sun rising over the US
Some more stunning images from the US coming in that show the eclipse as it rises in the US:
Less stunning images as eclipse rises in the UK
In the UK, the pictures being shared of the eclipse aren’t quite so stunning. The weather has served to get int the way of the view for many people.
Here’s Daniel Brown, an astronomer at Nottingham Trent University, explaining exactly what’s going on today:
“Today we see a partial solar eclipse in the UK. This means for us only 20-30% of the Sun is covered by the Moon, so no chance of noting the usual eery darkening of the day during such an eclipse. But if you observe it safely, you can note the Sun’s disk being obscured.
“If you were able to observe this much further north in the arctic, you would also not see the Sun totally eclipsed. For once we can actually use the term super moon to describe this, since the Moon was rather close to us at the last full moon (super moon), this New Moon is rather small as it pushes in front of the Sun. So it’s just that bit too small and we end up with a beautiful ring, sometimes called the ring of fire.
“Overall, this eclipse is a beautiful example of how striking objects in our skies like the Sun and Moon move and interact. So get out there while you have time and enjoy it safely using pinholes, filters or projecting the sun. Next chance you will have is October 2022.”
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