Solar eclipse 2021 - as it happened: ‘Ring of fire’ appears in UK and US skies
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Your support makes all the difference.The world has been treated to an annular solar eclipse, or the “ring of fire”.
The Moon moved in front of the Sun and blocked out most of its light, leaving only a blazing circle around it.
It was visible in some form across the east coast of the US, most of Europe including the UK and Ireland, and northern Asia. Not everyone got the full celestial sight – in those places it will be partial, and the Sun will appear as a crescent in the sky – but lots of people will were able to see some of it.
It began at before sunrise on the east coast of the US, and so wasalready be happening when the sun comes up in the sky. In the UK, the maximum eclipse happened just before noon.
As ever, the most important warning was never to look at it directly: without equipment such as eclipse glasses, the light could do substantial and permanent damage to your eyes.
Hello and welcome
... to The Independent’s live coverage of today’s annular solar eclipse, or “ring of fire”.
How ‘partial’ will the solar eclipse be?
In the UK and Ireland (and in many other places besides), the eclipse will not be total: it’s a “partial” solar eclipse today. Up to two-thirds of the Sun will be blocked out, according to the Royal Astronomical Society.
(It’s also an “annular” solar eclipse – ie, the Moon doesn’t fully obscure the Sun, so it forms that ring around it.)
Watch eclipse on live stream
If you’re not getting the chance to see it directly – if the weather, time, location or lack of equipment is going to ruin it – then you can still get the chance to watch the eclipse on our live stream, here.
About 10 minutes until eclipse appears in the sky
The eclipse will begin in about 10 minutes or so in the UK, depending where you are. (It’s actually starting now in Penzance, but won’t arrive in Dover until 13 past.)
It won’t be at its maximum for another hour after that, and you might not be able to see anything when it actually begins. But it is starting.
What time is the eclipse in the UK?
While the time differs slightly by a few minutes depending on where you are – everything happens about 10 minutes earlier on the west coast of the UK, compared with the east – the schedule is roughly similar.
The eclipse begins around 10.05am, reaches maximum around 11.10am and the ends around 12.20am. (Again, give or take a few minutes depending on your location.)
Once again, if you can’t actually see the eclipse for whatever reason, you can watch it live here.
Cloudy weather could obscure sight in the UK
The clouds appear not to want to be upstaged by the Moon and the sun; the weather is doing a great job of obscuring the eclipse in much of the UK.
Pictures show eclipse as it begins – despite the clouds
People are sharing images of the eclipse as it passes over the UK – at least in some places, where it is managing to peek through the clouds.
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