Most of us are usually not aware of the mechanics of the solar system.
But if the silhouette of the moon slides over the sun disk during an eclipse, you can marvel at the precision movement of heavenly objects.
The partial solar eclipse Saturday. Pic: ap
At the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, home to the meridian, the Partial eclipse started at 10.07 hoursWith the moon that seems to take a nibble off the edge of the sun.
Crowds look through eclipse goggles, upset with the best display of the earth.
Eclipse Chasers looked together at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich
Saturday’s partial solar eclipse. Photo: Royal Observatory Greenwich
Wispy Cloud drove over the sun when the eclipse reached a peak an hour later. But not enough to spoil the view.
Ropes formed at the strongly filtered telescopes set up by amateur strengths. They gave such a good close-up that sunspots were visible, each the size of the earth.
Members of the public stood in line to see the eclipse by a telescope
Our ancestors would also have looked at the air during the eclipse. Many cultures were afraid of them as supernatural or bad sign.
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Nowadays, we have a good understanding of the moon moving before the sun. And we can predict them far in advance – not just when, but where they will occur.
A solarscope, used to observe the sun indirectly
A partial eclipse, with just a haze -like shade of the moon falling on the planet, happens somewhere quite often.
A total eclipse, if the sun is completely darkened and the day is night, is very rare.
You must wait until 2090 to see a total eclipse here in the UK. But there is one in August 2026 in Iceland and North Spain.
Eclipse Chasers, who is never the magic of magic, will have booked all their tickets.
