Summary
On the morning of the 25th of October, a partial eclipse was visible from Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, and the United Kingdom. As National Coordinator for Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) in the UK, I wanted to ensure as many people could safely observe this unusual astronomical event as possible. I hope you enjoy reading this Member's Report, which describes my exploits!
Enabling people to observe the eclipse safely
A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun as observed from Earth. On the morning of the 25th of October, the Moon obscured approximately 20% of the Sun's disc, more or less, depending on the observer's location in the UK.
As the Moon only partly covered the Sun, observers were required to wear special solar glasses to ensure the Sun's bright rays did not damage their eyes. Therefore, you must never look directly at the Sun without proper eye protection, as doing so can cause permanent blindness.
Through Astronomers Without Borders and their Solar Glasses Distribution scheme (https://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/programs/solar-glasses-distribution), I arranged for 3,200 pairs of solar glasses to be shipped from the USA to the UK for me to redistribute.
I invited people to request solar glasses be sent to the, paying a small cost to help with shipping costs, customs duties, postage, packing and purchasing a label printer.
I sent 500 envelopes containing five pairs of glasses, a flyer with guidance, and details about AWB and my Go Stargazing website. I sent a further 600 glasses to schools, astronomy societies and community groups, keeping the remaining 100 to give out at my eclipse observing event (detailed below). After the eclipse, I was thrilled to receive numerous messages from recipients of the solar glasses saying they had seen the eclipse!
Kit - The eclipse shades were a big hit! I can't wait for the next one
Samantha - All 3 of my kids from ages 3 to 10, including me, loved observing through your glasses! They were amazing, thank you!
Paul - Yes, thanks for the glasses!
Si - The kids were absolutely amazed at the eclipse. Thanks for the glasses; they will remember today for a long time.
Lorna - Thanks for our glasses... hoping to inspire the next generation of amateur stargazers
Sally - posted a fantastic photo with her husband and two children
Peter - posted a picture of him wearing his solar glasses from the canal in Nottingham
Elaine - Thank you for the glasses. My son and I were amazed at the glasses. Keeping them for the next one in 2026
Linda - My grandchildren enjoyed the glasses and found seeing the eclipse in between cloud cover
The above individuals sent photos of them with their eclipse glasses; I'd like to thank them for permitting me to share their pictures in my report!
Partial eclipse observing events
As well as sending solar glasses, I also featured observing events where people could see the partial eclipse with their local astronomy group or observatory. The events were posted to my Go Stargazing website detailing how people could safely observe the eclipse for themselves and where they could go.
https://gostargazing.co.uk/2022/09/13/see-a-partial-solar-eclipse-from-the-uk-in-october-2022/
In the two days running up to the partial eclipse and on the day of the eclipse itself, the website received over 14,000 visitors. On the days after the eclipse, I received several messages from those who organised observing sessions saying attendees found their event via Go Stargazing.
Live stream for timeanddate.com
To help even more people witness the partial eclipse, I partnered with timeanddate.com providing them with a live stream of the eclipse for them to include in their event coverage. In addition, I arranged for my friend Keith to capture images using his hydrogen-alpha solar telescope from his observatory in Durham and stream those images live to timeanddate.com. The stream has been viewed nearly 1 million times on YouTube.
Public partial eclipse event at Hawes
Finally, in collaboration with the Yorkshire Dales National Park and as part of their Dark Skies Fringe Festival, I organised an observing session at the Dales Museum in Hawes. The event was very well attended, with approximately 80 people viewing the Sun through white light, hydrogen-alpha telescopes, and solar glasses, courtesy of Astronomers Without Borders. Guests also made partial eclipse biscuits, enjoyed a short presentation, were told all about Astronomers Without Borders and were given dates of forthcoming eclipses.
https://www.darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/
Thanks to everyone at Astronomers Without Borders for supplying the solar glasses and introducing me to the team at timeanddate.com! Clear skies!
Neill