Partial eclipse of the Sun photographed in Stratford

Skygazers gathered across the UK this morning (Saturday) to catch a glimpse of the 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 England at around 11am and was visible in parts of the country from between around 10am and noon.

Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, said: “It’s not like the landscape or the light looks different if you’re not looking at the eclipse, but if you’re looking through a telescope then you see this really obvious bite.

“One of my colleagues has a colander and through that, you can see little pinholes of the sun with the bite out of it as well.

“I think you could guess it’s running into the tens of thousands watching with events like this, there’s local astronomy groups across the UK who are doing it.”