'Breathtaking' Solar Eclipse Witnessed By Millions

A great swathe of the Earth's surface was plunged into darkness as the
Moon came between us and the Sun.

From an aeroplane above the Faroe Islands, a BBC camera crew captured
startling footage of the event reaching totality at 09:41 GMT.

The deep shadow formed first in the North Atlantic and then swept up
into the Arctic, ending at the North Pole.

People keen to catch a glimpse of the rare phenomenon were advised not
to look directly at it.

Looking directly at the Sun can cause serious harm, and skywatchers
were directed to the multiple ways to catch an eclipse safely and in
comfort.

In all parts of the UK, the eclipse reached at least 83%, with the
darkness peaking at about 09:35 GMT. The precise timing and degree of
the eclipse varied with location.

For the Shetland Islands, the eclipse was at its height at 09:43 GMT
and was very near total, with 97% of the Sun's disc obscured by the
Moon.

For those caught under cloudy skies, the internet was a good option to
see the eclipse.
Scientific agencies had planes and even satellites gathering video to
relay on the web and on television.

In the UK, the weather turned out to be slightly better than
anticipated, with clouds breaking in many places at just the right
time. London and the South East, on the other hand, just saw their
grey day get slightly gloomier.

Experiencing a genuine total eclipse required a trip north of the
British Isles - such as the flight taken by a BBC camera crew and
Stargazing Live's Liz Bonnin, above the clouds in the Faroes.

"We have a pretty spectacular view," Bonnin said. "This is extraordinary."

That footage revealed interesting features of the eclipse, including a
clear view of "Baily's beads". These are the sparkles of light seen at
the very edge of the Moon, where its rugged landscape allows the last
rays of sunlight to peak through before full obscuration.

Few land areas were directly in the path of the Moon's deepest shadow
- its so-called umbra - and seabirds probably had the some of the most
dramatic eclipse experiences.

The period of greatest darkness - nearly three minutes - occurred over
a spot in the Norwegian Sea, a little below the Arctic Circle, at
09:46 GMT.
--BBC