When is the next solar eclipse? How long the UK will wait to repeat the August 2026 phenomenon

THE UK is witnessing the most significant solar eclipse in decades today. It is delivering the fullest coverage for a partial solar eclipse seen from these shores since 1999, when parts of Cornwall and Devon experienced totality – and it will be decades until Brits see something comparable. It is never safe to look directly at the sun during a partial eclipse Credit: EPA Up to 96% of the Sun is being obscured by the moon in the UK today Credit: Gerry Penny When is the next solar eclipse in the UK? Tonight’s solar eclipse is visible across the whole of the UK. It is a partial solar eclipse, but comes very close to being total, with between 90% and 96% of the Sun of obscured across the nation – the greatest coverage is expected in the South West. Sign up for the Tech newsletter Thank you! Brits will have to wait a very long time for something comparable. There is another deep partial solar eclipse on November 14, 2050, but it is not predicted to be as close to a total eclipse – reaching a maximum of around 80%. read more on the solar eclipse A deeper partial eclipse follows on September 3, 2081, when up to 99% of the Sun is set to be hidden from parts of Great Britain. But the next true total solar eclipse visible from the UK will not occur until September 23, 2090. The Moon will cover between 90% and 96% of the Sun in the UK Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, will see a total eclipse on August 2, 2027. It will also be visible to an extent from the UK, but will be much less dramatic, with a maximum 45% of the Sun being obscured by the moon. Most read in Tech What is a solar eclipse? A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, blocking some or all of its light from view. Despite so much of the Sun being hidden, during tonight’s eclipse the sky won’t turn completely dark or reveal the solar corona as it would during totality. Royal Observatory Greenwich estimates that viewers in London will see around 90% coverage, compared with roughly 95% in Cornwall. The path of totality is the narrow track across Earth’s surface where the Moon completely blocks out the Sun, briefly plunging it into total darkness. For this eclipse, the path of totality passes over northern Russia, the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, the North Atlantic, large areas of Spain, and also a small corner of north-eastern Portugal. Comment now