Solar Eclipse: March 2015

Many will already know that there is a total solar eclipse on March 20, 2015. The path of totality is from just below Greenland, heading north into the Arctic Circle.

However, there will be a large partial solar eclipse visible from London. In London, the partial eclipse begins from around 8.30am and ends at about 10.40am, with 84% of the Sun covered at 9.30am. The Sun will be 20 degrees above the horizon in the south-east at the start of the partial eclipse. At the maximum (84% covered), it will be 28 degrees high, and at the end, 35 degrees high. Azimuth ranges from 119 degrees to 152 degrees.

The next solar eclipse as deep as this one visible from London won't be until August 2026, so this is a relatively rare event. I understand that BBC Stargazing Live will be broadcast in March next year, instead of January, in order to coincide with this eclipse.

We will certainly run a large-scale solar viewing event to correspond with the partial eclipse viewable from London.

For those who want to see the total eclipse, be warned that there is an 80-90% probability of cloud cover in the Faroes and Svalbard at that time of year! The best solution may be to view the total eclipse from the air.