Cloudy Skies Challenge Viewers of Total Solar Eclipse Across Europe
Heavy cloud cover limited visibility of today's total solar eclipse in Iceland and parts of Europe, while partial coverage was observed in the United Kingdom and other regions.
A total solar eclipse swept across parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, Spain and Portugal on Wednesday, reaching the northwestern tip of Iceland at about 5:45 p.m. local time (1:45 p.m. ET). Cloudy conditions in Iceland’s Arnarstapi and Grindavik towns reduced visibility, prompting observers such as Sandy Jung-Wu, who traveled from Los Angeles, to note that the event was difficult to see despite the dramatic celestial alignment. > "Cloudy skies and light rain make it so we are probably not going to see much in Grindavik," wrote another viewer, Mindy Pretner.
In the United Kingdom, a partial eclipse covering roughly 90% of the sun was visible, drawing crowds to locations like Land’s End in Cornwall. Spectators gathered with camping chairs and picnic gear, and many used eclipse glasses, which were in high demand. The eclipse marked the first major solar event in Europe since 1999, though that earlier eclipse was also cloud-obscured.
Photographers across Europe began submitting images, hoping to capture the rare sunset eclipse as darkness fell toward the end of the day. Meanwhile, regions outside the path of totality, including parts of Canada, Alaska and the eastern United States, experienced a partial eclipse.
NASA explained that total solar eclipses occur when the moon fully blocks the sun, while other types—annular, partial, hybrid and lunar—result from different alignments of the Earth, moon and sun.