Solar eclipse 2026: Thousands gathered in Greater Manchester

Millions of people throughout the UK and Europe gathered to watch the 2026 solar eclipse, the most significant of its kind since 1999.

More than 90% of the sun was covered by the moon for most of the UK, with a rare total eclipse visible from Iceland and parts of Spain.

In Greater Manchester, pupils, parents, and staff gathered at Sharples High School in Bolton for the once-in-a-generation celestial event.

Headteacher Caroline Molyneux was delighted at the turnout, with dozens of children and their families attending.

“I got back from holiday last week and put a post up on Facebook about the event,” she said.

“Obviously it’s the summer holidays, so to get 40 or so kids down is brilliant.

“We’re so lucky to have an observatory on site at the school, se we felt we should definitely put something like this on for such a major event.”

The eclipse through a pinhole projector. (Image: Tom Adams-Smith)

Mrs Molyneux explained that due to the positioning of the sun relative to other school buildings, the best place to see the eclipse was actually from the playground.

“We couldn’t see from the observatory because of the angle of the sun and the buildings in the way, so we came outside instead.

“We’ve got all kinds of equipment to let the children view the eclipse safely – eclipse glasses, colanders, pinhole projectors and special binoculars.”

Headteacher Caroline Molyneux and former teacher Mukesh Songadia. (Image: James Chittick)

Former science teacher Mukesh Songadia – after whom the school’s observatory is named – spent 40 years at Sharples before retiring.

He explained that those in other parts of Europe may have been treated to an even better view of the eclipse.

“When the moon totally covers the sun in a total eclipse, what you can see is the glow of the atmosphere around the sun – the corona,” he said.

“And then as the moon just slightly moves away, you get the diamond ring effect, where the whole thing looks like a diamond ring, it’s amazing.

“We won’t see it like that in the UK, but in Spain and Iceland they’ll see the totality as they’re further West.

The eclipse was seen by millions across Europe. (Image: Sam Lovelock)

“It’s incredibly lucky for us to witness an event like this,” continued Mr Songadia.

“It only happens because the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun, but the sun is exactly 400 times further away during the eclipse, meaning the moon covers the sun perfectly.”

Among the many excited children at Sharples were Dante, Raphael, and Deo, who had made a box full of pinhole projectors so that people could safely view the eclipse.

Dante, Raphael and Deo made lots of pinhole projectors. (Image: James Chittick)

“You hold it up to the sun like this and then light goes through the hole and projects onto the paper at the back, that way you don’t hurt your eyes,” they explained.

That wasn’t the only way of seeing the sun projected onto a surface, though.

The boys also spotted a stunning pattern on one of the school walls, with hundreds of crescent-shaped shadows appearing through the trees as the eclipse reached its peak.

The shadows on the wall perfectly showed the crescent-shaped eclipse. (Image: James Chittick)

As the sun began to emerge from behind the moon and the crowds started to leave the schoolyard, Mrs Molyneux said: “Hopefully they’ll remember for years to come that this is where they watched the solar eclipse.”

Elsewhere in Greater Manchester, Heaton Park saw enormous crowds gathered for the viewing party organised by the Astronomical Society.

One young boy at the event remarked: “I’ve never seen so many people in Heaton Park – there’s thousands and thousands!”

Park staff were reportedly having to turn people away from the queue for eclipse glasses.

But that did not deter the huge numbers who turned out to view the sun disappearing behind the moon.

With clear skies across most of the region, conditions were near-perfect to see the eclipse in Greater Manchester.

Even where there was some cloud cover, the view was no less beautiful throughout the UK.

The eclipse from Lancaster. (Image: Molly York)

It’s just as well that so many were able to see such a rare event so clearly, though.

The next solar eclipse that will see more than 90% of the Sun covered by the Moon won’t happen until 2081.

For those lucky enough to still be around in 55 years, up to 99 per cent of the sun will be obscured by the moon on September 3 that year.

Cornwall and the South Coast will be the best places to view that one from. 

But for now, people across Greater Manchester and beyond will have to be content with the memories and photos from this year’s incredible eclipse.