West Country to See 95% Solar Eclipse on August 12, Best UK View Since 1999

Q: Why do experts warn that viewing this dramatic August eclipse through evening clouds could still cause permanent eye damage?

Because clouds only dim the Sun’s visible glare; they do not make it safe. Harmful solar radiation, including ultraviolet and infrared light, can still pass through haze and evening cloud, and even a thin gap in cloud can expose the eye to an intense crescent of sunlight during a partial eclipse. Experts say that is especially risky in an eclipse because the Sun looks less dazzling than usual, so people may stare for longer and override their normal instinct to look away. But even when 90% to 95% of the Sun is covered, the remaining sliver is still powerful enough to burn the retina, causing solar retinopathy. The retina has no pain receptors, so damage can happen without immediate warning and may only be noticed later as blurred vision, blind spots or permanent loss of central vision. That is why astronomers and eye specialists stress that cloud cover, low evening Sun and ordinary sunglasses do not provide adequate protection. After the 1999 eclipse, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists reported dozens of cases of vision problems linked to eclipse viewing, including people who had looked for less than a minute. The safe advice is unchanged: only view the eclipse with ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses, proper front-mounted solar filters on telescopes or binoculars, or by indirect methods such as a pinhole projection.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 31

Up to 95% of the Sun will be obscured over Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly on August 12, with Devon, Somerset and Bristol among the strongest UK viewing areas for the evening partial eclipse.
18:17 BST marks the start in the West Country, with maximum coverage at 19:12 and the event ending at 20:06, making a clear western horizon crucial as the Sun drops lower.
Astronomers say elevated west-facing sites such as Clifton's Sea Walls, Exmoor, Cleeve Hill, Avebury and St Mary's in Scilly offer the best chance of seeing it, weather permitting.
ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses or properly filtered telescopes are required; organizers are offering free public viewing events and have already distributed more than 7,000 pairs of glasses to young people.
The eclipse will be Britain's most dramatic since 1999 even though the UK misses totality, and the next full solar eclipse visible from the UK is not expected until 2090.