The partial eclipse was visible from the UK from sunrise until 9.30am, you MUST NOT look directly at the sun without protective goggles (unless you want to risk going blind) so sophisticated astronomical apparatus should be used . . . or a colander, here's how:
Grab a colander from the kitchen cupboard; find a bit of wall that the sun is shining directly onto; hold the colander so the sun shines through it onto the wall and as if by magic (or a scientific optical rule involving angles and projected light and stuff) lots of little Crescent Suns appear on the wall – like this
. . . you can see the Moon's shadow is gradually moving away and the 'bite' out of the Sun is getting smaller . . .
So, there you have it – the Partial Solar Eclipse of 4th January 2011 as recorded by Magic Cochin using two colanders. If you live in the UK and want to do this yourself (or try the 'bowl of water' method as I did on 1st August 2008) you'll have to wait until 15th March 2015, or travel abroad.
There was something else that happened just after sunrise this morning, something that for me eclipsed (sorry) the excitement of the astronomical event – the first egg of 2011!
Thank you Saffron, you are a star ;-)
Celia
x
x
