Partial solar eclipse blotted out by blur in UK

Those lucky enough not to have woken up under wide grey cloud may have witnessed a partial solar eclipse over the UK this morning, although the best views were expected to be elsewhere around the globe.

The phenomenon occurred from 8.12am over London, ending at 9.31am, with somewhat varying times across the rest of the country, although muggy skies meant the sight was obscured to most.

The Middle East and Europe enjoyed better views of the partial eclipse; Sweden had been expected to be the major location to witness it.

"It's thanks to the position of the moon and so the shadow is very small," A solar eclipse happens when the moon appearance up between the sun and the Earth, casting a lunar shadow on the Earth's surface and obscuring the sun. During a partial solar eclipse, only piece of the sun is blotted out. Different places around the world enjoyed varying degrees of eclipse, with a few parts of Sweden experiencing up to 85% of sun coverage.

Henricson said Swedes only have such a chance about once every 45 years. Their next complete solar eclipse will be in 2126.

The eclipse was first seen over Jerusalem, where the upper right of the sun was covered. In Poland the public were treated to live television coverage of the eclipse from the southern city of Krakow, where the shadow of the moon could be seen slowly but surely blotting out the sun; however, most of Poland was enclosed by clouds that blotted out the sight.

Astronomy website skyandtelescope.com had said the eclipse would occur over a enormous swathe of Africa, Asia and Europe, including Cairo, Baghdad and Madrid, with a sunset eclipse visible from central Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and north-west China.