Hertford Astronomy Group will be holding a live solar eclipse event in Welwyn Garden City town centre on Tuesday, October 25.
On Tuesday morning, there will be a partial solar eclipse, and the local astronomical society is inviting you to join them to observe it at their public eclipse watch.
What is an eclipse?
Eclipses of the Sun take place when the Moon, in its orbit around the Earth, passes between the Earth and the Sun.
The Moon’s orbit around the Earth is at a different angle to that of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, otherwise eclipses would take place every month.
How do you watch an eclipse?
Obviously you should never look at the Sun without proper eye protection. Sunglasses are not intended for this purpose and are clearly not suitable.
Only proper solar filters should be used.
Members of the Hertford Astronomy Group will have a range of equipment to allow visitors to observe this rare event.
This will include telescopes with solar filters, as well as purpose-built solar telescopes fitted with hydrogen-alpha filters that can only be used for observing the Sun.
There will also be a solar projector that will show an image of the Sun that can be viewed by several people at once.
Finally, they will also have other items that will produce small images of the Sun - a colander and a tea-strainer! If you aren’t able to join the public event, then you might try using one of these yourself.
In addition, the society’s publicity officer, Jerry Stone, will have an inflatable Earth, Moon and Sun to demonstrate how eclipses take place.
When is the next eclipse taking place in the UK?
The next solar eclipse begins at 10.10am on Tuesday, October 25 and lasts until 11.50am.
Maximum eclipse will be at 11am when almost 16 per cent of the Sun will be covered.
However, the Sun is so bright that if you didn’t know the eclipse was taking place, you wouldn’t know anything was happening.
At that time the Sun will not be very high, so buildings and trees may be a problem.
Where to watch the solar eclipse
Hertford Astronomy Group will be in the open area at the north end of Stonehills in Welwyn Garden City town centre.
On this occasion, it may be possible to also see the planet Venus, which will be close to the Sun’s position.
The image shown gives an idea of how the eclipse may look at its maximum.
Jerry Stone said: “We ran a similar observing event in 2015 which was well attended. Although the sky was very cloudy that time, it cleared enough to see a thin crescent Sun.
"Obviously astronomical events are always dependent on the weather, but we hope that people will have a chance to view this sight. Everyone is welcome to attend.”
For further information, visit www.hertsastro.org.uk or write to jerry.stone2001@gmail.com
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