Partial solar eclipse set to delight Kildare skygazers

A partial solar eclipse is set to grace skies across Ireland this week as the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun.

On Tuesday morning, skygazers across the country will be able to see nearly a sixth of the Sun being blocked out by the Moon.

Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society, said the phenomenon will cause the Moon to block the view of “some or all of the bright solar surface”, and the Sun will “appear to have a bite taken out of it”.

Observers in western Siberia, Russia, will get the best view of the eclipse, where the Moon will obscure a maximum of 85% of the Sun, Dr Massey added.

The partial solar eclipse is expected to begin in Ireland at 10.06am and end at 11.40am on Tuesday (Maximum view at 10.52am).

Dr Massey said looking directly at the Sun can cause serious damage to the eyes, even when a large fraction of the solar disc is blocked out.

It is also not wise not to look at the Sun through binoculars, telescopes or a telephoto lens on an SLR camera.

He added: “The simplest way to watch an eclipse is to use a pinhole in a piece of card.

“An image of the Sun can then be projected on to another piece of card behind it (experiment with the distance between the two, but it will need to be at least 30 cm).

“Under no circumstances should you look through the pinhole.”

Dr Massey said another popular method used to view an eclipse is the mirror projection method.

He said: “You need a small, flat mirror and a means of placing it in the sun so that it reflects the sunlight into a room where you can view it on a wall or some sort of a flat screen.

“You may also have eclipse glasses with a certified safety mark, and these are available from specialist astronomy suppliers.

“Provided these are not damaged in any way, you can then view the Sun through them.”

Binoculars or telescopes can also be used to project the image of the Sun.

Dr Massey said: “Mount them on a tripod, and fit one piece of card with a hole in it over the eyepiece, and place another between 50 cm and a metre behind it.

“Point the telescope or binoculars towards the Sun and you should see its bright image on the separate card.”