On the evening of August 12th, a solar eclipse will take place across parts of Europe with a 96% eclipse visible from Cork.
This partial eclipse will see 96% of the Sun blocked by the Moon which will bring about a noticeable reduction in the daylight. The eclipse will begin at 18:15 and reach maximum at 19:13 and ending at 20:08.
This will be the largest eclipse visible from Ireland until 2090!
If you’re in Cork on the day, Blackrock Castle Observatory will be organizing a number of events locally from 17:30 – 20:30 with free solar eclipse glasses available for safe viewing and a team of ambassadors to answer your queries.
It’s an event for all ages and you can be sure of plenty of advice from our enthusiastic experts!
If you are viewing from home, a solar eclipse must never be viewed without the right equipment. NEVER look directly at the sun without the right protection!
We recommend you use ‘eclipse glasses’ which are specifically designed for this purpose, but make sure they are from a reputable source. A free method you could try is putting a pinhole in a piece of card and projecting the Sun through this onto a flat, white surface. This projection method allows a group of people to observe the event together with ease.
The weather is always unpredictable here in Ireland, but a solar eclipse can still be viewed through thin clouds so don’t lose hope if we have a grey sky on the day.
This image of the Sun was taken from Blackrock Castle Observatory.