» Bolton skygazers catch glimpse of partial solar eclipse

The phenomenon occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth. The three are not completely aligned, so only part of the Sun is obscured.

The eclipse peaked in London at around 11am on Saturday and was visible in parts of the country from between around 10am and noon.

Professor Christopher Collins, an emeritus astrophysics professor from Liverpool John Moores University, said: “Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun.

“Today saw a partial eclipse, with 50 per cent of the sun obscured in northern Scotland and 30 per cent in the south.

“Eclipses have been important since ancient times as then they were attributed to Gods or folklore.

The partial solar eclipse as seen over The Royal Liver Building on Liverpool’s waterfront. The phenomenon occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth. The three will not be completely aligned, meaning only part of the Sun will be obscured. Picture date: Saturday March 29, 2025. (Image: Peter Byrne/ PA Wire)

“More recently, these have also helped scientists learn about the outer atmosphere (corona) of the Sun and have been used to test Einstein’s theory of relativity.”

Meanwhile, Mike Merrifield, 60, from Nottingham, used a colander to view the partial eclipse because the holes in the utensil helped to take “a picture of the sun”.

The emeritus professor of astronomy at the University of Nottingham said: “Colanders just happen to have a convenient number of holes in them.

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“You’re basically looking at the shadow of the colander, and each of the little holes acts like a little pinhole camera, so each of those little holes is effectively taking a picture of the sun.”

Mr Merrifield also has a specialist telescope named Dwarf II which safely captures photos of the sun, and said he was surprised to see the eclipse during the day with favourable weather.

“Most of my astronomy is nighttime astronomy, so you have to stay up to two or three in the morning to do what you’re doing.

Guests at London’s Lucky Cat 22 Bishopsgate view the partial solar eclipse over the capital. Picture date: Saturday March 29, 2025. (Image: David Parry) “The nice thing about this is I can have a cup of coffee with my elevenses watching the eclipse, so it’s a civilised time of day to be doing astronomy.”

The Met Office said earlier on Saturday that southern and eastern areas of the UK would have the best viewing conditions, with cloudier skies in the north and west.

The next partial solar eclipse visible in the UK will be in August 2026, which is expected to reach 90% obscurity.

If you have a picture of today’s solar eclipse – send it to The Bolton News via our social media channels!