Seeing Stars: Watch the Moon take a bite out of the Sun

Looking at the Sun, even during an eclipse, can result in severe damage to your eyes so it is important that solar eclipse glasses are used to protect your eyes. Look for glasses that are ISO compliant. Safety goggles, sunglasses or binoculars should never be used.

When a total solar eclipse takes place, the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun and blocks out the Sun entirely, plunging the land into a quiet darkness. 

However, for this partial solar eclipse, only a portion of the Sun is covered by the Moon as the Earth, Moon and Sun are not precisely lined up. It will look as though the Moon’s is taking a bite out of the Sun.

The eclipse will be visible throughout the country with the north-west of Scotland seeing 48 per cent of the Sun covered by the Moon whereas the south-east of England will only see 28 per cent of the Sun hidden by the Moon.

If you don’t have solar eclipse glasses then here are two safe methods for observing the eclipse. Use a piece of white card as a screen and another piece of card to project the image of the Sun. Make a 1-2mm hole in the centre of the projection card and hold it up to allow the Sun’s light to pass through, projecting a pinhole image onto the white card below. Don’t look at the Sun through the hole!

A second method is to take a kitchen colander outside near the maximum eclipse (around 11am). A colander, with its many holes will give you fantastic multiple images of the eclipsed sun. Hold the colander above the ground and project the sunlight onto a piece of white card or a white sheet.

The ‘STARGAZING in Kintyre and Gigha’ group is holding a free family partial eclipse viewing event at Beinn An Turic Distillery on the Torrisdale Castle Estate near Carradale between 10am and midday on March 29. 

The event incudes a telescope live stream view of the eclipse, free eclipse glasses for safe viewing, a fun space-themed treasure hunt for the kids and out-of-this-world treats in the café. Come along for some astronomical fun.

If you miss this eclipse then don’t despair because the next one to be seen from Kintyre takes place on August 12 2026, when 90 per cent of the Sun will be obscured by the Moon. If you are lucky enough to be on holiday in Iceland, Spain or Majorca on that date, you will have the chance to see a rare total eclipse of the Sun.