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Solar eclipse - When is it and how to watch it safely · THE DAILY BRIEF

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  Speaker 1: There.
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  Speaker 2: It is.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, that is spectacular.
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  Speaker 2: Very dark, really very dark, indeed, Yeah, and then it
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  Speaker 2: got very very light. It was like a midnight in midday.
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  Speaker 3: So I think it gives us an opportunity to connect
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  Speaker 3: with the Sun and just remind ourselves of this sort
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  Speaker 3: of clockworks solar system that we live in. People in
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  Speaker 3: Europe are gearing up for one of the most incredible
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  Speaker 3: and rare cosmic events on Wednesday. The Moon is going
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  Speaker 3: to slide right in front of the Sun, causing a
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  Speaker 3: solar eclipse. You won't want to miss it. It will
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  Speaker 3: be the first in Europe this century, and the next
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  Speaker 3: one of this magnitude in the UK isn't due until
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  Speaker 3: twenty eighty one. So over the next ten minutes, we'll
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  Speaker 3: aim to answer all of the questions that you've got
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  Speaker 3: and we'll tell you everything you need to know about
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  Speaker 3: the eclipse, where and when you will be able to
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  Speaker 3: see it, and how you can view it safely. Well,
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  Speaker 3: our science correspondent Palap Ghosh is joining us, and Palap
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  Speaker 3: first up, explain what a solar eclipse is.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Kasha, I think you described it very well. I'm
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  Speaker 1: in northern Spain, which is going to be experiencing a
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  Speaker 1: total eclipse. So essentially what happens is the Earth, the Moon,
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  Speaker 1: and the Sun completely aligned. The Moon blocks out the
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  Speaker 1: bright disk of the Sun and what we see is
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  Speaker 1: the Sun's corona. And those excited people witnessed an incredible sight. Now,
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  Speaker 1: not everyone is going to see this. If you're in
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  Speaker 1: either side of the path of totality, you'll see what's
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  Speaker 1: called a partial eclipse. Of people in the UK will
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  Speaker 1: experience that, but even that is particularly spectacular. But I'm
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  Speaker 1: looking forward to getting as excited as the people you
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  Speaker 1: had on earlier in just a couple of days time.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, people get so excited about this. You are very
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  Speaker 3: lucky because you're going to see a one hundred percent eclipse.
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  Speaker 3: In terms of the rest of us, where can we
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  Speaker 3: see it and when? Well, as you can see here,
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  Speaker 3: only people living in Iceland and in parts of Spain
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  Speaker 3: will get to witness a total eclipse when one hundred
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  Speaker 3: percent of the Sun will be covered by the moon.
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  Speaker 3: Other parts of Europe will get close, including here in
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  Speaker 3: the UK. We will see just over ninety percent moon
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  Speaker 3: coverage of the Sun, so not bad. As for when, well,
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  Speaker 3: depending on where you are in the UK, it will
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  Speaker 3: peak between nineteen o two and nineteen sixteen, and for
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  Speaker 3: those lucky enough to be a Northern Spain like Pallab,
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  Speaker 3: depending on your location, the total eclipse peaks between twenty
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  Speaker 3: twenty six and twenty thirty three local time. So Palab,
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  Speaker 3: you are one of the really lucky ones in northern Spain.
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  Speaker 3: Will there be a total eclipse where you are?
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely? Now, I don't want to create fomo, but people
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  Speaker 1: say that even a ninety nine percent eclipse, it's like
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  Speaker 1: going to football stadium and not watching the match. Even
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  Speaker 1: a tiny pinprick of light masks the Sun in its
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  Speaker 1: full glory. So we are going to see it here.
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  Speaker 1: As you said, it's going to last a whole one
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  Speaker 1: minute and forty seven seconds. Now, that doesn't seem like
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  Speaker 1: a long time, but that's not bad. Fro An eclipse.
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  Speaker 1: We'll be able to see this incredible vision of the
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  Speaker 1: Sun's atmosphere that it's indescribable, but try and describe it.
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  Speaker 1: It hangs there like a black pearl shimmering in the
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  Speaker 1: night sky. As that little boy said, midnight turns to daytime.
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  Speaker 1: And it's quite an experience. And as I said, I'm
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  Speaker 1: really looking forward to it.
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  Speaker 3: And I have got fomo. I'll be completely honest with you. Now,
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  Speaker 3: what about the weather, Because for the perfect viewing experience,
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  Speaker 3: the weather has to play ball, and on Wednesday we
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  Speaker 3: may just be in love. Here's Matt Taylor from the
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  Speaker 3: BBC Weather Forecast.
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  Speaker 2: Well, as with any make celestial event to cloud, coverage
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  Speaker 2: and weather is key to how much you see and
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  Speaker 2: how much you enjoy the event. Let's first of all
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  Speaker 2: remind you just where that path of totality will be.
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  Speaker 2: Where the best of the eclipse will be across parts
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  Speaker 2: of eastern Greenland, west of Iceland, down through towards Spain
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  Speaker 2: and the bally Erics. And of course the coverage of
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  Speaker 2: the eclipse will decrease the further away from that zone
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  Speaker 2: we get. Now, the big weather picture four Wednesday evening
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  Speaker 2: shows that low pressure will be moving in across the
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  Speaker 2: North Atlantic in the direction of Iceland, various weather fronts
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  Speaker 2: as well edging towards the UK and Ireland. High pressure
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  Speaker 2: though through much of continent to Europe. And in terms
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  Speaker 2: of whether this means it should be cracking viewing conditions
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  Speaker 2: across much of mainland Europe, there will be a few
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  Speaker 2: showers dotted around across the Alps, maybe the Pyrenees and
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  Speaker 2: a little bit of high cloud, but not enough to spoil,
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  Speaker 2: especially so across Spain and the bally Erics, where the
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  Speaker 2: best of that tortality will be. Different story for Iceland.
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  Speaker 2: All that low pressure system throw an extensive cloud coverage,
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  Speaker 2: outbreaks of rain any breaks likely to be towards the northwest.
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  Speaker 2: But even if you stuck with cloud in the west
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  Speaker 2: of the country, you will see the darkening of the
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  Speaker 2: skies quite drastically in between the two the UK and Ireland.
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  Speaker 2: For England and Wales, cash your eyes out towards the
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  Speaker 2: west and that setting sun. It will be a perfect evening.
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  Speaker 2: Just a little bit of high cloud around, more cloud
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  Speaker 2: door through Northernland. Good part of Scotland is a chance
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  Speaker 2: of a few passing shows, but even here you might
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  Speaker 2: get lucky and see a few breaks around. Less luck
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  Speaker 2: though out towards the far northwest of Scotland, more cloud,
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  Speaker 2: outbreaks of rainbow. Wherever you are across the UK, Island
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  Speaker 2: and Europe. Good luck with your viewing.
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  Speaker 3: Good luck indeed well. The last time there was a
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  Speaker 3: total solar eclipse, it was the Americas that got lucky.
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  Speaker 3: Fifteen US states and parts of Mexico and Canada were
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  Speaker 3: able to experience a total eclipse, and our correspondent Emma
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  Speaker 3: Vardi was there with the Crowns in Texas just two
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  Speaker 3: years ago in twenty twenty four. This has been a
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  Speaker 3: very surreal few minutes. What was a bright, hot sunny
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  Speaker 3: day now feels chilly. I'm getting goosebumps, and the clouds
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  Speaker 3: moved aside at just the right moment crop.
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  Speaker 4: Here, I just all struck.
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  Speaker 5: It kind of felt like a dimmer switch being turned.
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  Speaker 2: Down on the sun.
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  Speaker 4: So it was really cool to see you.
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  Speaker 5: I was amazed at how old they lights and the
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  Speaker 5: skyscrapers came on, and then it just sort of met
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  Speaker 5: so cold, and then it was just like beautiful.
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  Speaker 3: Well, in the UK, it's been a little bit longer
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  Speaker 3: since we've experienced a total eclipse August eleventh, nineteen ninety
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  Speaker 3: nine in fact, and we have dug into the BBC
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  Speaker 3: archives to see what it was like.
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  Speaker 1: The odds of seeing the eclipse had been put at
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  Speaker 1: fifty to fifty at eleven sixteen. The moment of totality
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  Speaker 1: we saw we had been lucky.
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  Speaker 3: I thought it was absolutely amazing. We thought it was wonderful.
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  Speaker 3: The whole emotion of the event was something which took
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  Speaker 3: us quite by surprise.
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  Speaker 4: I was surprised at how emotional the whole thing was
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  Speaker 4: as it suddenly got dark. It was a feeling of
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  Speaker 4: humanity cross together on a hilltop. It was very primeval,
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  Speaker 4: almost prehistoric.
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  Speaker 3: It was lovely.
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  Speaker 1: I got pickles all up my arm, so that's all peculiar.
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  Speaker 4: I really thrilled that we came.
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  Speaker 3: We've got our very own eclipse veteran with us. Pallab
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  Speaker 3: was in the United States in twenty seventeen and had
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  Speaker 3: this a very special reaction.
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  Speaker 1: I've got goosebumps, not just from the excitement, but also
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  Speaker 1: the fact that it gets pretty cold when the sun's
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  Speaker 1: rays are blocked out. And just look at the eerie
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  Speaker 1: light that we have here. As I said, it just
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  Speaker 1: feels like a completely dreamlike state. And I just have
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  Speaker 1: to say, slightly spaced out by that experience, right.
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  Speaker 3: Let's cross over live to Pallab, because Pallab, we saw
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  Speaker 3: you there back in twenty seventeen, experiencing a total eclipse.
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  Speaker 3: You described it as being totally spaced out. Talk us
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  Speaker 3: through what it feels like when it happens.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you've heard from all sorts of people that have
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  Speaker 1: experienced it. It is a beautiful site. You will enjoy
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  Speaker 1: it when you watch it on the television. But it's incredible, emotional,
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  Speaker 1: and some might say spiritual experience, and one that shared
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  Speaker 1: with all those around you. Your whole world is turned
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  Speaker 1: upside down. Things that shouldn't happen just seemed to happen.
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  Speaker 1: And I think someone described it. I described it as
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  Speaker 1: a dream like state. This is almost like a living dream.
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  Speaker 1: And then when it finishes, you're still in that kind
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  Speaker 1: of euphoric moment. And so it is a moment when
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  Speaker 1: you see it. When you see it for real, you're
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  Speaker 1: never quite the same person again. And so keep on
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  Speaker 1: with the fomo and one day you and anyone else
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  Speaker 1: watching should experience a total eclipse, because there's nothing quite
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  Speaker 1: like it. It's one of my most precious memories, and
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  Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to the one in two days time.
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  Speaker 3: I really really have fomo now, Palla, as always, thank
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  Speaker 3: you so so much. Now, if you want to see it,
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  Speaker 3: you may have seen people in some of the clips
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  Speaker 3: that we've been playing wearing these types of glasses. Now
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  Speaker 3: these are eclipse glasses or eclipse viewers, and I can
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  Speaker 3: tell you what you can't see a thing. They're pitch black.
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  Speaker 3: I guess that's the point. They're really important if you
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  Speaker 3: want to look at the sun safely. Lots of you
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  Speaker 3: have asked about this. His astronomer Briany Langan to explain.
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  Speaker 5: Number one rule about eclipses is do not look directly
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  Speaker 5: at them. It will damage your eyes. So you need
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  Speaker 5: either proper eclipse glasses, which you can buy online, or
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  Speaker 5: you can even make a simple eclipse viewer yourself using
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  Speaker 5: just two pieces of card and a pin and just
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  Speaker 5: poke a small pin hole in one of the What
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  Speaker 5: you do is you need to line yourself up so
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  Speaker 5: that the sun is roughly at your back and sort
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  Speaker 5: of figure out where you want to hold the card
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  Speaker 5: that has a pin hole in it. Then you put
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  Speaker 5: the other card just on the ground so that you
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  Speaker 5: can see the projection of the sun onto that little
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  Speaker 5: piece of card there.
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  Speaker 3: Now, for many people it will be too late to
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  Speaker 3: order these types of glasses online in Belgium, Portugal, Spain.
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  Speaker 3: Also here in the UK, many retailers are saying that
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  Speaker 3: they're completely sold out, but if you search around, some
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  Speaker 3: stores might still have them on sale where you are.
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  Speaker 3: You can also try local museum stores or science shops
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  Speaker 3: that might just carry them. Halla, have you got your
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  Speaker 3: glasses ready?
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  Speaker 1: I have, They're here now. This will be an awful
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  Speaker 1: lot of fun for everyone. But this is really important.
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  Speaker 1: If you haven't got your glasses, then don't look at
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  Speaker 1: the sun because even for an instant, even for a moment,
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  Speaker 1: it can permanently damage your eyes. And every time there
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  Speaker 1: is an eclipse, there are up to one hundred people
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  Speaker 1: that have permanent eye damage. So don't do it. There
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  Speaker 1: are other alternatives. Watch it on the Telly, watch it
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  Speaker 1: with us on the news channel, and on streaming outlets.
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  Speaker 1: You can do a pinhole camera. But for goodness sake,
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  Speaker 1: don't look at the sun. Get one of the these
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  Speaker 1: eclipse glasses. Make sure that it's got the CE certification
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  Speaker 1: that you're a measure of protection. Do inspect them to
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  Speaker 1: make sure there are no pinpricks. But whatever you do,
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  Speaker 1: do not look directly at the sun because that will
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  Speaker 1: damage your eyes, even if it's for an instant.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, critical advice there, Palap, Thank you. Now, just one
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  Speaker 3: more thing, A total solar exclipse, or even an almost
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  Speaker 3: a total eclipse is a pretty rare occurrence, Palap. If
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  Speaker 3: people miss out on this one. When is the next one?
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  Speaker 1: Well, they occur around every eighteen months or so somewhere
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  Speaker 1: in the world. Quite often it's over an ocean, so
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  Speaker 1: people go on long cruises to experience it. But partial
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  Speaker 1: eclipses are more common. They happen about five or six
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  Speaker 1: times a year. But the thing to do is to
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  Speaker 1: wait for a total eclipse. Work it out in advance,
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  Speaker 1: book your flights, book your hotels well in advance. In
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  Speaker 1: the UK, you'll have to wait until twenty eighty one
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  Speaker 1: for a partial eclipse, and if you're really keen, we'll
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  Speaker 1: have to wait till twenty ninety for a total eclipse.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think I'll be hanging around for that long,
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  Speaker 1: but I'll go to as many as I can in
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  Speaker 1: the meantime.
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  Speaker 3: Good for you, palam As always, thank you so much
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  Speaker 3: for your enthusiasm. That's enthusiasm. That's been absolutely fantastic. Palav
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  Speaker 3: Ghost there joining us from northern Spain, where you'll get
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  Speaker 3: a total eclipse.
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  Speaker 2: Lucky thing.
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  Speaker 3: I've got real serious fomo. Don't forget these. This is
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  Speaker 3: all from us. You know now everything about the European
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  Speaker 3: solar eclipse and how to watch it, most importantly safely,