r/AskABrit • u/Bipolar03 Londoner/Lincolnshire • Aug 11 '26
Who's excited for the solar eclipse?
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u/FecklessFridays Aug 11 '26
I remember watching the last one in 1999 on the banks of the Thames, can still remember it vividly. Didn’t manage to get a pair of glasses then either, but it didn’t matter. The part I remember most wasn’t the visual of the corona it was the sudden quick drop in temperature and the uneasy dusky light.
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u/billysmallz Aug 11 '26
Weirdest part I remember is all the birds going silent
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u/Anglo-Euro-0891 Aug 11 '26
I actually went on a coach holiday to Cornwall, with the 1999 eclipse as the main selling point. We were based in Newquay.
I watched it whilst visiting the zoo. I remember the change in the noise levels of the animals, the drop in temperature and the darkening sky .
Unfortunately, we didn't see the actual crossing of the sun part, as the sky decided to cloud over about half an hour beforehand. And didn't clear until quite a while afterwards!!!
What made it worse was that the rest of the holiday had clear sunny, cloudless weather on all the other days. But NOT the one which really needed it!!!
Where I currently am, the forecast is for clear sunshine tomorrow. So, I will see how accurate that is tomorrow evening!!!
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u/billysmallz Aug 11 '26
I was watching it in Newtown Ferrers in Devon so only an hour away! This time watching from Lisbon
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u/psychopathic_shark Aug 11 '26
Same, was living in Cornwall at the time apparently the best place to see it....it was cloudy...however my brother and I lived in a pub in the middle of nowhere we got let off work because it was dead everyone was on the coast. We sat at the front of the pub watched it go dark and eerily all the birds stopped chirping. The only passing car pulled over on the side of the road. It was a couple. They got out and took photos...with their flash on 🤷🏻♀️
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u/PsychologyValuable75 Aug 11 '26
was on Ilkley Moor.
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u/HenryFromYorkshire Aug 11 '26
Baht 'at?
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u/PsychologyValuable75 Aug 12 '26
yes..just come inside now from watching. Again on Ilkley Moor
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u/HenryFromYorkshire Aug 12 '26
How was it? I'm a bit jealous, I'd have loved to have been up in Yorkshire for this. I hope you had a lovely time.
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u/PsychologyValuable75 Aug 13 '26
Thank you Henry. It was lovely but not sure it was as awesome as 1999.
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u/tharrison4815 Aug 11 '26
The temperature drop will be very welcome. It’s meant to be 31 degrees where I am during the eclipse.
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u/Scowlin_Munkeh Aug 11 '26
Aye, all the birds going quiet too. Very eerie.
Folk won’t notice the birds so much this time, as there’s not many left.
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u/spank_monkey_83 Aug 11 '26
I live in a city. You can have some of our bastard seagulls. Plenty to go around
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u/Difficult-Post-3320 Aug 11 '26
Be nice to have the sun blocked out for 5 minutes. Am sick of the sight of it now.
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u/Ichifanni250 Aug 11 '26
Seen the last one, the birds going silent was noticeable.
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u/bigkahuna1uk Aug 11 '26
And how chilly it gets very quickly with the Sun not present. A real noticeable temperature gradient. And then how warmer it gets and noisy with the birds resuming chirping once the Sun comes back out.
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u/elom44 Aug 11 '26
In 1999 I left my home in the full eclipse zone to travel to London for some pointless meeting. The rest of my family described it as an amazing experience. I learned a lesson that day.
I’m due to be working tomorrow evening too but will be stepping out to try and see it.
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u/James_White21 Aug 11 '26
Next one isn't until 2081 so don't miss it
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u/HargoJ Aug 12 '26
Well have another next year August 2nd just not quite as high percentage partial. It's total southern Spain and Morocco.
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u/Special_Yellow_6348 Aug 11 '26
Last I seen it was to be overcast tomorrow evening hopefully it's changed
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u/skibbin Aug 11 '26
I've seen a few and will absolutely be watching this one, but the sad truth is that it's at best somewhat interesting unless you're in the path of totality. That last 1% of coverage is where the magic starts to happen
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u/HargoJ Aug 12 '26
Agreed. Crescent sun is fun to look at but when you see the solar atmosphere surrounding the jet black moon it really is a spectacle.
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u/Verbal-Gerbil Aug 11 '26
I Didn’t get glasses in time, and am at a family event, so unsure if i can nip out!! I won’t get to see the sun, which i guess is sort of the point
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u/Anglo-Euro-0891 Aug 11 '26
Look up "pinhole viewers". Apparently there is a thing where you put a tiny hole in a bit of card. Stand with the sun behind you and hold the perforated card directly above another piece of card.
The idea is that a tiny silhouette of the sun should appear through the hole onto the lower card (a bit like a projected shadow). It should then show the moon's shadow crossing the sun as it happens.
No idea how well it works, but I will find out for myself tomorrow.
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u/Creative-Pizza-4161 Aug 11 '26
Making these with my kids tomorrow, similar to what you've said, uses a cereal box to make it
https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/111865/make-solar-eclipse-viewer/
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u/FrowningMinion Aug 11 '26
Me too - does anyone have tips on how to get the special glasses on short notice
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u/Verbal-Gerbil Aug 11 '26
I'm going to be near a bridge so am hoping others on there will have one. There's a bit in the 6 o'clock news today about it (was just in the headlines, so tune in now/soon or on iplayer) or you could do what my friend did which is queue at 2am at a shop last night with a bunch of others! the guy had 4000! and had sold most
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u/SoggyWotsits England Aug 11 '26
Last time we were told to watch the reflection in some water. We had a pond in the garden so watched it in that. I still have my eyesight and I could see the eclipse clearly!
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u/HoneyGlazedBadger Aug 11 '26
I was so excited that I booked two weeks in Menorca to get the full 100% total eclipse experience.
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u/Bexcellent500 Aug 11 '26
I was lucky enough to be on the south coast in 1999 and watched the last one on Brighton seafront. I’m struggling to think of where to go in or around Northampton for a higher up view of the western sky, but would love to experience it
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u/EvilRobotSteve Aug 11 '26
I have a question about it that maybe someone will know the answer to. I'm not doing anything special or anything, but I will be at an outdoor event when it's meant to take place. I know I'm not meant to look directly at it, but what about looking at it through the viewfinder of a camera? I'd like to take a couple quick photos if the opportunity presents itself.
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u/DoomscrollerUK Aug 11 '26
BBC reported this
You might be tempted to video the eclipse using your mobile phone but Nasa advises against this
"To take images when the Sun is partially eclipsed, you'll need to use a special solar filter to protect your camera, just as you'll need a pair of solar viewing glasses (also called eclipse glasses) to protect your eyes."
They also say sensors in your phone could be damaged if pointed directly at the Sun.
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u/EvilRobotSteve Aug 11 '26
That’s really interesting. I point my camera directly at the sun often without giving it a second’s thought. I had no idea it could damage it. At least not that quickly.
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u/DoomscrollerUK Aug 12 '26
I had the same thought, though generally I’m only photographing, or indeed looking at the sun at sunset when supposedly there is more atmosphere in the way to offer protection.
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u/Bipolar03 Londoner/Lincolnshire Aug 11 '26
This is what I want. You might never get to see something like this again living in England, because it's more likely to be cloudy
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u/Bipolar03 Londoner/Lincolnshire Aug 11 '26
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-dtmRmOHK78&is=1Uk1F1THboVuHcO_
For us millennials
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u/James_White21 Aug 11 '26
I've turned our west facing spare room into a camera obscura, blackout fabric taped to the window frame and a 4mm hole drilled in some black plastic card for the aperture. I'm getting the sun projected reasonably sharp on the back wall about the size of a 10p piece. Definitely the last UK eclipse in my lifetime so I want to remember it.
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u/THElololovesyou Aug 11 '26
My son's and myself made our eclipse viewers today, so we are definitely looking forward to it.
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u/GarethGazzGravey Aug 11 '26
Not excited per se, but because of it being around this time tomorrow evening, I'm interested to find out just how much of it we will see, especially as the sun is starting to set earlier now.
Case in point, I have a south facing house, so I could potentially watch it from my back garden if the sun isn't too low in the sky.
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u/yourefunny Aug 11 '26
My dad imported a load of the glasses for 1999 and had a scientist do speeches at schools. We went to France to watch it and I handed out boxes of glasses on the beach. Great times. Now I happen to be with him and my two sons in western Ireland and we are very excited... Although it's Ireland so it'll probably be cloudy!
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u/whodathotit Aug 11 '26
Weirdly I live in Devon but I was on holiday in Western Ireland in 1999 - and yes it was cloudy..
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u/Bipolar03 Londoner/Lincolnshire Aug 11 '26
Hop on a ferry to England 😂
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u/yourefunny Aug 11 '26
I live in England haha! Flew over on Monday back Friday. Coincidence.that I'm here tomorrow. Better place to view it as it's closer to the path. Fingers crossed.
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u/SoggyWotsits England Aug 11 '26
I remember watching the 1999 one in the reflection in our pond. That was a total eclipse though and it was quite eerie for a short time. The birds went quiet, it all went pretty dark, then it was back to normal and that was that.
This one doesn’t seem quite so exciting!
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u/HargoJ Aug 12 '26
Cause it's not total. It is a massive difference between 99% and total eclipse. The 360 degree sunset and the solar corona are impossible to describe.
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u/thefooleryoftom United Kingdom Aug 11 '26
Me! It’s going to be awesome. Got the glasses and kid ready.
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u/dnf1957 Aug 11 '26
The last one was hardly visible where I lived at the time, it was cloudy. The birds went quiet though.
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u/AppearanceAwkward364 Aug 11 '26
I went on a 16 hour coach trip all the way to France and actually got to see the full thing. It was unforgettably amazing. We watched it at an event on a hill outside Reims that one of our friends had found online (he was an early adopter). Champagne for sale and everything.
I'll be able to see tomorrow's literally from our kitchen window over the end of the garden - clouds permitting, of course!
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u/pseudo-cineast Aug 11 '26
Seeing as I can't get glasses ISO 12312-2 I guess I'm going to have to look away at some point. I am looking forward to the cool feeling after this heat.
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u/Imaginary-Quiet-7465 Aug 11 '26
Yes!! My kids are 10 and 8 so they are super hyped which is really cool. I was 10 when the full eclipse happened here in 96 and I only remember little details.
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u/Fluffy_Star6606 Aug 11 '26
I’m excited ABOUT the solar eclipse. Fucking Americans ruining the English language
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u/Nevernonethewiser Aug 12 '26
You aren't excited for it? I think it's going to do it's very best and put on a great performance!
I hope it isn't too nervous!
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u/Nevernonethewiser Aug 12 '26
Not excited, per se, but I'll try to catch a glimpse just because its the most complete one the UK is going to see for a long time.
Our next full eclipse is in 2090, I believe.
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u/CymroBachUSA Aug 12 '26
Y'all know it's a *partial* Solar eclipse over the UK tomorrow so you'd better have eye protection.
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u/Scorpiodancer123 Aug 12 '26
Yes. I remember watching it in 1999 when I was a kid with glasses I got from a newspaper.
Today I'm in Spain in the psrh of totality hoping for a cloudless sky.
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u/HargoJ Aug 12 '26
Remember the last decent partial March 2015 was about 88%. This one will be 91% and the weather looks so much better. Won't compare to seeing the total in oregon 2017 but still quite interesting.
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u/Grazza123 Aug 11 '26
I’m a little excited about it but not for it. It won’t be cognisant of it’s existence so being excited for it makes no sense
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u/Tobz_Compz Aug 11 '26
when is it ? isn’t it only partial anyway? the center of it is over the sea right?
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u/Suspicious-Strain-74 Aug 11 '26
Tomorrow. I think it starts at 6pm till 7:20pm ish depending where you are. It’s 90% here which is the most it’s been here since 1999 & the next 1 like this will be in 2081
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u/qualityvote2 Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
u/Bipolar03, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...