5 essential stargazing items for this week's solar eclipse and meteor shower (aff)
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Gear up for Wednesday's solar eclipse and Perseid meteor shower with these five essential stargazing tools
With Leeds set to experience its deepest solar eclipse in 27 years this Wednesday (August 12), astronomy is taking centre stage across Leeds this week.
Not since August 1999 has the UK witnessed a solar eclipse of this magnitude, with roughly 91% of the Sun set to be obscured over Yorkshire during Wednesday evening's event, beginning shortly after 6pm and reaching its peak at 7:09pm.
But the celestial display doesn't stop when the Sun goes down.
In an exceptionally rare cosmic double feature, Wednesday night also marks the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower.
Thanks to a New Moon creating pitch-black night skies, stargazers across Leeds could spot up to 100 shooting stars per hour stretching into the early hours of Thursday morning.
Coming right in the middle of the school summer holidays—and alongside the announcement of a state-of-the-art mobile planetarium arriving in Millennium Square - it is a prime week for families, kids, and budding stargazers to get out into the garden or head up to dark sky spots like Otley Chevin or the Yorkshire Dales.
Whether you're looking to safely watch the daytime eclipse or catch shooting stars after dark, having the right kit can make all the difference.
Here are five top-rated astronomy essentials available on Amazon to help you get the best view of this week's sky display.
5 essential items for this week's cosmic display
ISO 12312-2 & CE Certified Solar Eclipse Glasses (£19.85)
Proper eye protection is non-negotiable for Wednesday evening's eclipse. Regular sunglasses—no matter how dark or expensive—do not block the concentrated radiation that causes permanent retinal damage.
These glasses meet the strict international safety standard (ISO 12312-2) and carry full CE certification for direct solar observation.
Manufactured in the EU with sturdy cardboard frames and high-density optical polymer lenses, they filter out 100% of harmful ultraviolet and infrared light.
Misilmp 70mm Portable Refractor Telescope (£49.99)
If you don't want to spend hundreds on a complex rig just to catch this week's astronomical events, this sub-£50 portable scope hits the absolute sweet spot.
Featuring a generous 70mm aperture and fully-coated optics, it gathers plenty of light for crisp views of the Moon's cratered surface, planetary alignments, and distant landscapes.
Crucially for beginners, it requires zero tools to assemble, sets up in minutes, and comes with an adjustable aluminium tripod (42cm to 125cm) and a handy smartphone adapter - meaning you can align your phone camera with the lens to snap and share photos of the sky.
Kylietech High Power 12x42 Waterproof Binoculars (£25.99)#
Ask almost any experienced astronomer, and they will tell you that a solid pair of binoculars is often better than a cheap telescope for night sky viewing.
Offering a much wider field of view, these 12x42 binoculars are ideal for scanning broad swathes of the sky during Wednesday night's Perseid meteor shower or sweeping across open star clusters without fiddly alignment.
Packed with high-end optical components - including a premium BAK4 prism and fully multi-coated (FMC) lenses - they deliver maximum light transmission and crisp clarity in low-light conditions.
BORUIT LED Red & White Light Head Torch (£11.99)
Any seasoned stargazer will tell you that a red light torch is a non-negotiable tool for night-sky viewing. Once your eyes adjust to pitch black - a process that takes around 20 to 30 minutes - turning on a standard white flashlight or looking at a smartphone screen instantly destroys your dark adaptation.
Red light allows you to read star maps, adjust tripod dials, and walk safely without resetting your night vision.
Weighing just 70g, this compact headlamp features a dedicated red light mode alongside standard white LEDs, pivots up to 45°, and comes with batteries included.
Collins 2026 Guide to the Night Sky: A Month-by-Month Guide (£7.99)
An app on your phone is handy, but a physical month-by-month handbook from Collins Astronomy and the Royal Observatory Greenwich is the ultimate field companion. Featuring six pages dedicated to every month of 2026, it details exactly when and where to look for visible planets, meteor showers, and lunar and solar eclipse timings across Britain and Ireland.
Packed with easy-to-read star charts, a detailed map of the Moon, and a guide to official dark sky sites across the UK, it turns casual backyard stargazing into a structured, rewarding hobby.