Partial eclipse of the sun could take place behind clouds.

Bill Boddy

Professional layabout
Contributor
There is an eclipse of the sun on Friday morning during the rush hour. It will only be partial, from 82% in Dover at 9:32 am to just over 97% in Lerwick at 9:43 am. The line of totality runs through the Faroe Islands at 9:30 am. Just to enhance the spectacle the British weather may well have cloud cover at those times.

If you look directly at the sun unless wearing specially designed glasses your retina will be damaged.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/sci...omical-event-be-ruined-by-cloudy-weather.html
 
I'm living in hope. I made a solar filter for my telephoto lens at the weekend. Taking Friday morning off.
This will be my 4th attempt at seeing an eclipse (cornwall, 2003 and 2006) so far I have seen naff all.
 
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I a full solar eclipse in 1999, having driven to a french seaside village in Normandy and it certainly was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but I'm told a partial eclipse, even at 95 per cent come nowhere near. As long as there any bits of sun ray left uncoved by the moon it's enough to prevent significant darkness setting in.

i think it's a full eclipse if you travel as far north as the Shetlands.
 
Shetland isn't far enough. Its only the Faroe Islands that are getting totality.

2015_Stereographic_Magnitude.jpg
 
No. Nein. Non. Nicht.

Absolute no-no. One of the things that have made people complacent about solar eclipses when they come along is that in many or most cases the damage to the retina doesn't begin to show until years later, and by then they usually forget what caused it.
 
True, but probably not for a few billion years yet. Earlier than that it may become so hot that the water will boil of and drift away into space. So you'd better book your journey to Andromeda now.
 
In all seriousness, tomorrow morning you must not look directly at the sun. Even with the naked eye you WILL cause permanent damage to your eyes. Regular sun glasses DO NOT protect you. If you look at the sun through binoculars you will be instantly BLINDED for life.

Unless you have planned ahead and bought purpose made solar filters and solar viewer glasses then the only safe way to view the eclipse is with a pin hole projector. You only need a piece of card and a white bit of paper.

If you are watching this with kids be super vigilant, do not let them stare at the sun.

Stay safe.

http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/make-pinhole-projector.html
 
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Unless you have planned ahead and bought purpose made solar filters

By the way, for those of you using solar filters mounted on a telescope, even with good-quality solar filters you should never point the 'scope at the sun for more than a minute a time. The magnified solar power would eventually melt the filter. And then you'd be done for...

EDIT Incidentally just in case, I do mean solar filters, of the kind you screw on telescopes' eyepieces, NOT eclipse glasses. Don't ever point a telescope at the sun wearing eclipse glasses!
 
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Yes as Incubus says filters on eye pieces do not work. The filter must be place on the far end of your telescope / camera / binoculars, so the light is filtered before the magnifcation within the telescope happens. If you do that your telescope is fine to point at the sun for as long as you want.

This end NOT the eye piece.
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I have a proper solar filter for my scope. But it won't matter, as usual, when it matters, I won't see the sky.
:disappointed:
 
Shame it was total cloud cover.

Still, I've experienced a total eclipse before, in 2000 in north east Turkey (Zonguldak to be precise).

A very surreal experience and I got some great photos.
 
Yeah, total eclipses are something else altogether.

Still though, despite the cloud cover this morning was still a good time for us up here for those fortunate to live on the coast. The sea reflects whatever's happening up in the sky so the effect's much more spectacular. The sea gets a lot darker than the surrounding areas inland.

Also the spectacle was quite unusual I'd never seen such a low tide on the bay we live in. The moon's in the phase of its closest orbit cycle to the earth at the moment so when both moon and sun pull at the earth from one single direction and it happens to coincide with the spring equinox the sea looks as though it's miles further out.
 
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Definitely not the same as a total eclipse. We did get to see some of this one as it was only partial cloud cover, but it didn't feel the same as a total.
 
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