Image by Lutfar Rahman Nirjhar, licensed under Creative Commons
The United Kingdom today rejoiced as it bore witness to its first total solar eclipse since 1999. At least, the parts of it that weren’t covered in blanket clouds rejoiced, and many of the people therein took to their streets and gardens to capture shots of this historic occasion.
Sadly, with AP towers located in Central London, we weren’t especially fortunate. Here is our extremely #professional attempt at documenting this celestial milestone:
The eclipse is happening right now. Here's our best shot so far from AP HQ, show us yours! pic.twitter.com/qIgL6MZ3v1
— Amateur Photographer (@AP_Magazine) March 20, 2015
Luckily, plenty of our more geographically privileged followers were on hand to improve on our sorry effort:
https://twitter.com/dontfeedthecow/status/578858120853766144
@AP_Magazine from Redditch Worcestershire pic.twitter.com/yZ7fgWDum1
— Sonia D Wild (@wild_sonia) March 20, 2015
@AP_Magazine Cheshire, far from decent. pic.twitter.com/G7Zt8zoZOh
— Paul Morgan (@pe_morgan) March 20, 2015
@AP_Magazine @phosgrapheuk pic.twitter.com/MbQEUweHZ7
— Catherine manser (@Manser1967) March 20, 2015
@AP_Magazine Taken whilst walking the dog. Fuji x20 with some exposed 120 film held in front of the lens. pic.twitter.com/zJgYaeI0Q0
— matthew ormston (@matt_ormston) March 20, 2015
Edinburgh #eclipse2015 @AP_Magazine @Photomonthly @prophotomag @OutdoorPhotoMag @NatGeoPhotos @PhotographyWeek pic.twitter.com/U0Ber5jq3w
— Claire Rose Waugh (@I_AM_CLAIREEY) March 20, 2015
https://twitter.com/sara760810/status/578881854729789440
Eclipse over #Scotland @BBCScotlandNews @SkyNewsBreak @welcomescotland @DiscoverScotlnd @AP_Magazine pic.twitter.com/LZ3vKmTOQs
— Buster Brown (@BusterBB001) March 20, 2015
Dublin Eclipse 2015 @AP_Magazine @talktojoe1850 @DublinLife @AstronomyIRL pic.twitter.com/yutkVjCl6U
— Mulhall Photography (@Mulhallphotos) March 20, 2015
And plenty of other photographers around Twitter were also doing some sterling work:
https://twitter.com/RichardCowley2/status/578856822787944448
https://twitter.com/MikeTonge/status/578857619542118400
A great image of this morning's eclipse taken from the One in a Million free school by the Coral Windows Stadium. pic.twitter.com/LIcNXM7xXq
— Bradford City AFC (@officialbantams) March 20, 2015
View of the partial solar eclipse observed in Penwortham at 9.20am this morning taken by Bob Clare. pic.twitter.com/cXy3JvG9Zg
— BBC Lancashire (@BBCLancashire) March 20, 2015
Heres the best shot I managed to get of the Eclipse in the cloudy sky here north of Manchester… pic.twitter.com/6f3U8wBLW9
— Mark Forrer (@markforrer) March 20, 2015
Perfect viewing weather, slight cloud and pic off my phone. pic.twitter.com/gLUyXCxxzI
— paul moffat (@paulmoffatphoto) March 20, 2015
Be warned though – you may have seen this ‘amazing’ image purportedly taken from the International Space Station circulating around.
https://twitter.com/JasonElsom/status/578837369496932352
It’s actually a fake, created in Photoshop some time ago, as documented by Gizmodo here.
If you missed this eclipse then you’ll have to wait eleven years until the next decent one, which is scheduled in for 12 August 2026. After that, you’ll have to wait 23 September 2090, so put that one in your diary now before you forget.
Also, at some point over the next eleven years try to read our guide to viewing and photographing the eclipse, so you’ll have no excuse not to be ready.
Well done to everyone who got a shot of the eclipse, and commiserations to everyone who lives under a sea of unrelenting cloud like we do. Next time!
