Millions of people, from eastern Canada to the Bay of Bengal, have experienced today's solar eclipse, despite varying weather conditions. Ireland, which enjoyed an unexpected break in the cloud, enjoyed a 90% eclipse, while rain prevented a full view in Cornwall, where there was totality. The phenomenon was perhaps best view in Iran, which had cloudless skies.
The Association of Optometrists in Ireland says that it has received many calls from the public worried about their eyesight because they looked directly at the sun during the eclipse. It says that people should watch out for symptoms such as an aversion to bright light and blurring or loss of vision. It adds that it is unlikely that people have been harmed, but that if symptoms persist, they should call into their local optician.
Despite predictions of bad weather across Ireland, hundreds of thousands of observers had a clear view of this morning's solar eclipse. Those viewing from Dublin had the luckiest break in clouds, but cloud persisted in Munster and North Ulster. Businesses and factories came to a standstill as workers took time off to see the moon covering 85% to 98% of the sun shortly after 11am. Temperatures dropped and the light dimmed as the moon covered the sun for just over two minutes at around 11.10am.
This, the last eclipse of the millennium, was Ireland's first solar eclipse in 72 years, the first visible in Europe in more than 40 years. Minutes before the partial eclipse there was an unexpected break in cloud over Leinster at eleven minutes past eleven on the eleventh. One of the biggest eclipse watches took place at the Phoenix Park in Dublin, where conditions improved this morning. Great visibility was also expected on the Irish Ferries vessel Normandy which set off yesterday for the French port of Cherbourg, in the hope of catching the path of totality as the moon covered the sun. However, there was disappointment for those hoping to view it in the Southwest, with hundreds in Cork, Kerry Limerick and Clare missing out on the last eclipse of the millennium.
In Southwest England, which was in the path of the total eclipse, many were disappointed as the full spectacle was obscured by clouds. More than half a million people converged on the south coast of Cornwall and Devon. Members of the public were urged to wear ultra safe eclipse shades to avoid damage to the eyes.
The moon moved in front of the sun at 11.11am, blocking its light for 126 seconds. The last time this happened in this part of the world was in 1927 and the next will be in the year 2090. Ireland did not lie in the path of the total eclipse, but during cloud breaks viewers did get to see about 95% of the sun being covered by the moon. When about half the sun was blotted out, the light became dim, with colours fading, and temperatures dropping. Just before totality, bright bubbles of light could be seen around the rim of the Moon, caused by sunshine bursting through the deep lunar valleys. The shadow of the moon continued on its path, cutting diagonally across Europe through the Middle East and ended at sunset in the Bay of Bengal.
