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Most of us are normally unaware of the mechanics of the solar system.
But when the silhouette of the moon slides across the disc of the sun during an eclipse you get to marvel at the precision movement of celestial objects.
The partial solar eclipse on Saturday. Pic: AP
At the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, home of the meridian, the partial eclipse started at 10.07am, with the moon appearing to take a nibble from the edge of the sun.
Crowds watched through eclipse glasses, awed by the best show from Earth.
Eclipse chasers watched together at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich
Saturday’s partial solar eclipse. Pic: Royal Observatory Greenwich
Wispy cloud had drifted across the sun by the time the eclipse peaked an hour later. But not enough to spoil the view.
Queues formed at the heavily filtered telescopes set up by amateur astronomers. They gave such a good close-up that sunspots were visible, each the size of the Earth.
Members of the public queued up to see the eclipse through a telescope
Our ancestors would also have gazed up at the sky during eclipses. Many cultures were fearful, regarding them as supernatural or bad omens.
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These days we have a good understanding of the moon passing in front of the sun. And we can predict them far in advance – not just when but where they will occur.
A Solarscope, used for indirectly observing the sun
A partial eclipse, with just a hazy shadow of the moon falling on the planet, happens somewhere reasonably regularly.
A total eclipse, when the sun is completely obscured and day becomes night, is much rarer.
You will have to wait until 2090 to see a total eclipse here in the UK. But there is one in August 2026 in Iceland and northern Spain.
Eclipse chasers, who never tire of the magic, will already have booked their tickets.
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