Monday 24th to Sunday 30th October 2022
The big news is a partial solar eclipse taking place on Tuesday 25th between 10am and midday. The maximum effect will be seen around 11am. Observers in the north of England will have the best view at a magnitude of 35%, but it will still be worth going outside to see it down here in the south west where the magnitude will be 17%.
Nothing in science and especially astronomy is simple and the term "eclipse magnitude" has nothing to do with how bright it is, rather how far the eclipsing body extends over the diameter of the object being eclipsed. In other words, if the Moon's edge reached the middle of the Sun's disc, then the eclipse magnitude would be 50%. A total eclipse would be 100%.
Talking about brightness, please remember that you must never ever look at the Sun through a telescope or binoculars - even the quickest glimpse will result in permanent blindness. Also I wouldn't be temped to use those old solar viewing glasses that were mass-produced for the 1999 total eclipse - they are not the best quality to start with and may have been damaged in storage.
So how do you look at it? In the absence of a dedicated solar telescope costing thousands of pounds, the safest method is to use a technique called "pinhole projection". Let the Sun shine through the holes of a colander from the kitchen. Place a piece of white card a little distance underneath it or hold the colander near a while wall and you will see multiple images of the eclipse projected onto the card. On a smaller scale, you could even use one of those old metal tea strainers.
Eclipse diagram courtesy of Pete Lawrence, Sky at Night Magazine
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2022
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