Hour-by-hour solar eclipse forecast for Leeds and if it will be cloudy
Forecasters have delivered their verdict on if it will be cloudy during the eclipse 🌡️
A rare celestial event is set to be visible in Leeds this week.
Stargazers and curious residents alike will soon be safely turning their eyes to the sky in the hopes of witnessing a partial solar eclipse. The moon is set to block almost all of the sun on Wednesday (August 12) evening.
It is the most the sun has been blocked above UK skies since the total eclipse in 1999. We got our readers to share in their memories of that famous event - read them here.
If you are thinking about heading out to try and watch the eclipse, the Leeds Astronomical Society president has named the best spots to see it. Find out where in this article.
For those who are going to venture out to try and catch the celestial event this week, you might be wondering if the weather is set to get in the way. Fortunately, the Met Office has issued its latest hour-by-hour forecast for the evening on Wednesday, August 12 and it is as follows:
- 5pm - sunny, clear skies - 32C
- 6pm - sunny, clear skies - 32C
- 7pm - sunny, clear skies - 30C
- 8pm - sunny, clear skies - 28C
- 9pm - clear night - 26C
The Met Office has detailed what time potential stargazers are most likely to see the moon obscure 90% to 92% of the sun.
In the timings released, Leeds was not included, but the eclipse is expected from 7.03pm in Inverness, 7.06pm in Edinburgh and 7.07pm in Newcastle. It is then due at 7.12pm in Birmingham and 7.13pm in London - so make sure you are in position from 7pm, to avoid being disappointed.
Imo Bell, a planetarium astronomer at the observatory, previously told the Press Association: “It’s not a total eclipse, but over 90% is really exciting. We’re not going to get one this good for a really long time.
“So, it’s important not to miss it, and to be prepared. You can’t just go out and expect to have a look because it’s really dangerous for your eyes.
“So, you can use solar eclipse glasses, which are very, very different from sunglasses – they block out so much light that you can’t see anything through them except the sun, because that’s how much light they need to block for the damaging light of the sun to be safe to view.
“Ideally a solar telescope is an amazing way to witness it, and if you don’t have one of them then you can look into whether your local astronomy society is doing any events.
“And if all else fails, you can project the image of the eclipse using a household item like a colander which has lots of holes in – point the colander towards the Sun with your back facing it, and in the shadow of the colander you’ll be able to see the eclipse in the holes, which is really cool.”
The next time the moon obscures as much of the sun will be in 2081 and the next total solar eclipse in the UK will be in 2090.