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7/8/26
On the 12th August there is going to be a partial solar eclipse in the UK. A solar eclipse is when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth, blocking the Sun from us.
The solar eclipse on the 12th August will block out around 90% to 96% of the Sun, depending on where you are in the UK. In other places, such as the Arctic and Europe they will see a total eclipse.
The solar eclipse will begin around 6:17pm. This is when the Moon will first start blocking the Sun. Then between 7:12 pm and 7:16 pm 90% to 96% of the sun will be blocked. At around 8:06 pm to 8:10 pm the solar eclipse will be over.
There have been many other partial eclipses over the years, but this is the closest we have got to a total one in a long time. The last total solar eclipse in the UK was back in 1999, 27 years ago! The next biggest total eclipse will potentially not be until 2090!
In this image you can see Earth illuminated by the Sun. When there is a solar eclipse the Moon is between the Sun and Earth and it creates a shadow on a small part of the Earth.
What is a Solar Eclipse?
A solar eclipse is when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth. This stops the Sun’s light from reaching Earth and it gets darker on Earth. This only lasts a short time as the earth and the moon are constantly moving.
How does this work when the Sun is so much bigger than the Moon? The Sun is actually 400 times bigger than the Moon, but it is also 400 times further away. Because of this the Sun and the Moon appear about the same size in our sky, which is how the Moon can completely cover the Sun during a total solar eclipse.
A total solar eclipse is when the Sun’s light is completely blocked. During a total solar eclipse the Moon looks like a black circle with a thin bright ring around the edge.
A partial solar eclipse is when the Sun’s light is only partly covered. During a partial solar eclipse the Moon looks like a black circle with a bigger part of the Sun still visible to one side.
An eclipse is only visible from limited areas on Earth. Some people on Earth will see a total eclipse, some people will see a partial eclipse and others will not see anything happening at all.
This diagram shows how a solar eclipse works, demonstrating the fact that only a small amount of people will see a solar eclipse. The umbra is where the Sun is completely blocked out and there is a total eclipse. The penumbra is where the Sun is partially blocked and there is a partial eclipse.
It is incredibly important not to look directly at the Sun ever, it will really damage your eyes, even during an eclipse.
If you want to watch a solar eclipse it is very important to wear special solar eclipse glasses to protect your eyes. Normal sunglasses won’t protect your eyes enough. The other option is to make a pinhole camera to watch it through.
Make sure you wear proper solar eclipse glasses and do not look directly at the Sun without them.
All photos and illustrations in this blog post are Whizzbots and Public Domain Images.