Science

Cloudy skies lead to mixed fortunes for Scotland's eclipse hunters

Scotland's best chance of seeing a solar eclipse in 27 years left some disappointed, though there were moments of magic.

Published August 12, 2026, 9:55 PM
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Cloudy skies lead to mixed fortunes for Scotland's eclipse hunters

Across Scotland, lucky skygazers have caught glimpses of the eclipse - despite cloud covering much of the view.

The Sun disappeared almost entirely behind the Moon, in what was the most dramatic solar eclipse visible from the UK since August 1999.

The spectacle started just after 18:00 on Wednesday evening, and lasted about two hours, with the Sun setting about 21:00.

At the beginning of the eclipse, heavy cloud cover across much of Scotland left visibility poor. But as the phenomenon progressed, cloud in some areas cleared at least partially, offering glimpses of the rare celestial event.

Parts of Spain and Portugal witnessed the phenomenon of a total eclipse, but in Scotland the eclipse shadow meant that up to 95% of the sun was obscured by the Moon.

At its peak, only an arc of the Sun was visible in Scotland. In areas where the clouds obscured the view, some viewers reported that it temporarily got a little darker than it otherwise would have been, as the Moon blocked the light from the Sun.

While there will be smaller solar eclipses over the next few years, the next total eclipse will not take place until 23 September 2090.

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