The UK Solar Eclipse 2026: How to watch safely
Get ready to look up! On Wednesday 12 August 2026, the UK will experience the best solar eclipse since 1999. Find out how you can watch the eclipse safely and pick up a few ideas on how to create a pinhole projector.
🚨 Before we begin, you must never look at the sun with your naked eyes. Specialist equipment must be used. Take extra care when enjoying this event. 🚨
When is the solar eclipse in the UK?
Get ready for one of the most incredible and rare cosmic events!
On Wednesday, 12th August 2026, the Moon is going to slide right in front of the Sun causing a partial solar eclipse. From here in the UK, the Moon will block out up to 96% of the Sun, depending where you are. That means early in the evening between 6:00pm and 8:00pm, the sky will darken, and the Sun will turn into a glowing, fiery crescent!
And what's more, just a few hours after the eclipse, the Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak. Meaning you have a good chance of seeing brilliant lights shooting by in the sky for a two-in-one celestial evening!
It’s going to be epic and surely one to watch. But, before you head outside, you need your ultimate Eclipse Expert Safety Guide!
How to safely view the solar eclipse
In this guide, we'll go through how to safely protect your eyes, the various ways you can view the eclipse, and some DIY tips and tricks on how to make a pinhole projector and the very important dangerous habits to avoid when attempting to view an eclipse.
Always wear certified ISO 12312-2 solar eclipse glasses | Getty Images
Solar eclipse glasses and ways to safely view an eclipse
Special solar eclipse glasses look like cool cardboard 3D glasses (ask your parents about those!), but they have high-strength filters built in that block out harmful solar radiation and visible light. Your regular sunglasses will not work.
Check the label: Make sure an adult checks that they have the safety code ISO 12312-2 printed on them.
The International Organization for Standardisation recommends only buying eclipse glasses that have the ISO 12312-2:2015 certificate, as these are certified as being safe for observing the Sun, including during a solar eclipse.
You should only use these glasses specifically for viewing an eclipse event and never look directly at the regular sun.
Inspect before wearing: Check for any scratches, rips, or pinholes. If they're damaged, or if you have any doubts, throw them away! Do not attempt to fix or repair them, they must be in perfect original condition.
How to wear eclipse glasses: If you're happy with the condition of your glasses, put them on before looking up at the sky, and make sure to look away before taking them off. Don't be tempted to catch a glimpse of the eclipse with your naked eye.
How to build a DIY pinhole projector for the eclipse
Don't have eclipse glasses? No problem! You can still watch the eclipse safely and indirectly by building your very own projection device.
What you need:
2 sheets of white paper, card or paper plate
A pin or anything small enough to poke a small 3mm sized hole (Ask a grown-up to help!)
How to do it:
Poke a hole: Use the pin to make a tiny, clean hole right in the middle of one piece of card.
Stand with your back facing the Sun.
Project: Hold the card with the hole up so sunlight shines through it, and hold or place the second sheet of white paper below it.
Watch the magic: Look at the bottom piece of paper. You should see a small projected image of the Sun which will become a crescent as the Moon 'takes a bite' out of it and crosses in front of the Sun.
A person demonstrates the effect of a pinhole projection on white paper | Getty Images
Bonus tip: How to use a colander to view the eclipse
Looking for something a little more low-tech but just as amazing? Head to the kitchen and grab your colander! No, we're not making pasta, we're making LOTS of solar projections all at once!
Stand with your back to the Sun.
Hold the colander up so sunlight shines through all the tiny holes onto a plain wall or a piece of paper.
Every hole in the colander should project lots and lots of tiny crescent Suns all at once!
A colander projecting lots of tiny images of the sun during a solar eclipse | Getty images
What are the dangers of viewing an eclipse?
To make sure your eclipse experience is 100% safe, follow these simple rules:
🕶️ Never use normal sunglasses. Even if you were to stack three pairs together, they still won't block the dangerous invisible rays that only ISO 12312-2 rated special eclipse glasses will.
📸 Never look through a camera, telescope, or binoculars. These will act like magnifying glasses and can burn your eyes instantly unless fitted with specialist solar filters in front of the lens.
☁️ Never think clouds make it safe. Sunlight punches right through thin clouds, so don't be tricked or tempted to take a quick glance!
📱 Never look directly at the Sun through your phone screen. You can accidentally catch the Sun in your eye while trying to take a picture. It may also damage your phone's camera lens if you have not fitted it with a solar filter in front of the lens.
😎 Never share glasses while looking up. Put your glasses on before you face the Sun, and take them off after turning away. Sharing glasses may cause one or both of you to reveal an eye, or if swapping your glasses to someone else you may forget to look away first.
Never try to use normal sunglasses to look at an eclipse or the sun, no matter how stylish you are!
August 2026 solar eclipse times for major UK cities
You should be able to view the eclipse around these times for various major cities around the UK. Find your nearest city, and the timings will be roughly similar.
Edinburgh
18:08 - 20:00 | 90.7% coverage | Peak 19:05pm BST
Glasgow
18:08–20:00 | 91.4% coverage | Peak 19:06pm BST
Belfast
18:10–20:03 | 93.1% | Peak 19:08pm BST
Leeds
18:12–20:03 | 90.8% | Peak 19:09pm BST
Manchester
18:13–20:03 | 91.4% | Peak 19:10pm BST
Liverpool
18:13–20:04 | 91.8% | Peak 19:10pm BST
Sheffield
18:13–20:03 | 91% | Peak 19:10pm BST
Birmingham
18:15–20:05 | 91.8% | Peak 19:11pm BST
Cardiff
6:16–8:07pm | 93.2% | Peak 19:13pm BST
London
6:17–8:06pm | 91.4% | Peak 19:13pm BST
The best city coverage of the eclipse will be around Cardiff, where 93% of the sun will be covered by the moon. Prepare your pinhole or colander projector for your peak timing to be able to see the full downwards crescent effect as the moon passes in front of the sun from right to left.
If you're lucky enough to be in the south east in places such as Land's End in Cornwall, you might be able to see up to 95.6% coverage!
Where is the best place to view the solar eclipse?
As this eclipse occurs in the late evening, and ends just moments before sunset is due, the Sun will be very low in the sky. With this in mind, you'll want to find somewhere with an unobstructed view of the horizon.
Find a spot with an unblocked view looking west-northwest like a high hill, an open park, or a beach.
Head out with an adult around 5:30pm to get set up as the eclipse will begin around 6:00pm with the main action peaking at around 7:10–7:15pm.
Be aware that as the Sun is so low, clouds which are miles away may still obstruct your view of the eclipse as the Sun goes down. Think positive, at the very least you will have a beautiful evening watching a sunset!
What is the weather like for the eclipse?
As always, the UK weather can be unpredictable!
As of today, 7th August, BBC Weather is predicting that Wednesday will be hot, sunny and with a light breeze. But keep an eye on the forecast and plan ahead.
What about the meteor shower?
That's right, the eclipse isn't the only celestial event you can see on Wednesday!
The Perseid meteor shower peaks on the night of 12–13 August, when Earth passes through debris left by comet Swift–Tuttle in its orbit. This event is somewhat frequent, but this one happens on a very favourable night as it immediately follows the eclipse meaning there will be a dark, moonless sky; perfect conditions to try and spot some shooting stars.
However, the show will peak at around midnight, so you may prefer to check out some professional images in the morning.
How to stargaze in the UK and what constellations can you see?
If you're interested and have your parent or guardian's permission to get up and watch the Perseid meteor shower, or if you're interested in stargazing in general, you can check out our handy guide on how to make the most of a dark and starry night!
Find out how to spot constellations and discover more about space, stargazing and comets.
Discover more about solar eclipses
After more space and stargazing? 🌌
Stars to supernovas, satellites to solar systems, check out all things outer space on CBBC! You can also dive deeper into science, with Operation Ouch and Horrible Science in our fun, funny and enlightening CBBC Science Hub.
Where can I watch Blue Peter? ⛵️
Watch Blue Peter on CBBC or catch all episodes on BBC iPlayer! Here on BP, we LOVE space so much that we've had real life astronauts on the show and of course, lots of science!
Check out when Tim Peake surprised our Book Club fans with some actual moon rock.
And remember, you can play games and quizzes, enter our competitions, get creative with recipes and crafts, and chat to other BP fans over on the Blue Peter page!
