WE’RE all going to be in the grips of a partial solar eclipse for over two hours on Friday morning, March 20.

Things will get a little darker as the most impressive solar eclipse for 16 years takes place, starting at 8.22am, reaching its maximum at 9.28am and ending at 10.37am.

We’ve put together an eclipse guide of what to expect, what do and what not to do – and be prepared for a double dose of the dawn chorus as birds will stop singing when the eclipse appears and start a second chorus when it’s all over.

Don’t worry about the lights going out though – solar power accounts for just 1.5% of energy generated for the National Grid, so there will be no disruption to our supplies.

 

WHAT IS A SOLAR ECLIPSE?

IT occurs when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, totally or partly obscuring the sun for a viewer on earth.

At first on Friday the skies will start to grow slightly dim but about an hour later 90% of the sun will be blocked out and it will be considerably darker and quite spectacular, especially if the sky is cloud free.

There is only going to be a partial eclipse in Britain, but there will be a total eclipse over North America.

The next partial eclipse of this magnitude in Britain will be on August 12, 2026, but we’ll have to wait until 2090 for a total eclipse.

 

HOW CAN YOU VIEW THE ECLIPSE: NEVER look directly at the sun with the naked eye, nor through sunglasses or welding glasses.

Cheap eclipse glasses are being sold on-line, but the advice is to still not look directly at the sun.

Only use a camera if you have a solar filter mounted to it and a solar filter sheet on the front of the lens.

A good way of seeing the eclipse is with a kitchen colander – hold it up to the sun and allow its shadow to fall on a white piece of card held about 20 inches away. It will project an image of the eclipse without you having to look directly at the sun.

You could also place a bucket of water on the ground and watch the sun’s reflection on the surface.

If you use binoculars or a telescope, don’t look through them directly at the sun – instead place a white card behind the eyepiece and an image of the sun will appear.