London witnesses partial solar eclipse

The weather in London presented perfect viewing conditions for the phenomenon.

Transcript

00:00So some challenges that we face is that sometimes like today the eclipse is not

00:05total so we can't study the corona in too much detail but it's still an

00:10amazing sight to be able to see these sorts of events happen. So they're

00:13special because they only happen a few times a year but you have to be in the

00:18right places to be able to see them so in the line we call the path of

00:22totality. So in some places this eclipse won't be visible but like today it'll be

00:28visible in the UK which is pretty spectacular. The observing conditions in

00:34London were absolutely perfect with clear blue skies on Saturday morning. The Met

00:41office said on Saturday that southern and eastern areas of the UK would have

00:47the best viewing conditions with cloudier skies in the north and west. It

00:54has been claimed around 30% of the Sun was obscures during the event but if you

01:02missed it the next partial solar eclipse over London is expected on the 12th of

01:08August 2026. On that occasion an obscurity of up to 90% is expected

01:14although partial solar eclipses are relatively common over the city. A total

01:20solar eclipse when the moon entirely blocks the Sun from view has not

01:26happened in London since 1724 and is not expected to happen again until the 14th

01:33of June 2151. Oh a personal favourite eclipse that I can think of I would say

01:40I would say a solar eclipse a total solar eclipse is something that I strive

01:44to try and try and look at but of course it's very hard to see. I've seen some

01:48lunar eclipses before so when the Sun the moon and the earth are all in line

01:52but instead the moon is on the opposite side of the earth to the Sun which has

01:57been really cool as well. So we now have the technology to be able to predict

02:01when these alignments do happen so we can better prepare to be able to view

02:06total to be able to view solar eclipses or lunar eclipses and also to be able to

02:13locate where in the world is best to see these types of eclipses too. We also

02:17heard from astronomer Immo Bell who also works at the Greenwich Observatory who

02:24says there has been nothing unexpected but that's the cool thing.