Partial solar eclipse: visible everywhere in Germany depending on cloud cover
At midday on Saturday, the moon will move in front of the sun and partially cover it, even here in Germany. Your eyes will need protection when observing it.
Partial solar eclipse over Ireland
(Image: Miguel Mendez, Partial Eclipse 2022/10/25, CC BY 2.0)
Another partial solar eclipse is scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Germany. Currently, it looks as if the weather could play along this time: Depending on cloud cover, the celestial spectacle will be visible throughout Germany and Switzerland around midday, with Austria seeing the smallest eclipse. This time, however, the largest coverage of the sun's surface will be in northern Germany, with just under 20 percent in Hamburg and Rostock, for example. The event, which will last around 90 minutes, can be observed with aids such as special glasses; the maximum will be reached at around 12:15.
Best observed on Greenland
To mark the partial solar eclipse, March 29 has been designated Astronomy Day. On this occasion, observatories, planetariums, research institutes and other institutions offer special activities, which are coordinated by the Association of Friends of Astronomy. On a website set up for this purpose, you can search a map to find out which events are taking place on Saturday. Some of them will also accompany the movements of Jupiter's moons in the evening, which will be visible with small telescopes. However, the focus will be on the solar eclipse. This time, it will not cause a full eclipse anywhere on Earth; the greatest coverage will be on Greenland, where only a narrow crescent of the sun will remain.
Experts warn that when the moon passes in front of the sun on Saturday, it should not be observed without protection. Just seconds are enough to damage the retina, summarizes the news agency dpa. Instead, you should use special glasses, which are available from opticians and must not be damaged. Normal sunglasses, sooted lenses, blackened films, solarium glasses or packaging films are not sufficient and endanger the eyes. Alternatively, the solar crescent can also be projected onto the ground or another sheet of paper using binoculars or a simple piece of paper.
This weekend's partial solar eclipse is not the last one this year; another one will occur over the South Pacific and New Zealand at the end of September. On August 12, 2026, a much more extensive one is also expected in this country, when around 90 percent of the sun will be covered. In Iceland and in many cities in Spain, this will even be a total solar eclipse, the visibility of which will only be hampered by the late hour in the evening. There you will be able to see the solar corona during the complete eclipse – and depending on the weather – “That's something completely different,” Carolin Liefke from the House of Astronomy in Heidelberg told dpa.
(mho)