West Mayo to experience best of solar eclipse in August
Up to 96 percent of the sun is expected to be covered in Mayo on August 12
THE west of Mayo is expected to be the main vantage point to witness an eclipse of the sun which will pass over the North Atlantic in August.
The first total solar eclipse to take place on mainland Europe since 1999 will occur on August 12 and will sweep down from Greenland and Iceland and across the North Atlantic Ocean before making landfall in northern Spain.
While the total solar eclipse will take place in the Atlantic, it is expected that 96 percent of the sun will be covered along the west of Mayo, making it one of the best places in Ireland to witness a solar eclipse.
A solar eclipse is a natural event where the moon passes directly between the sun and Earth, blocking the sun's light.
The start of the partial eclipse is expected along the west coast of Ireland at 6.08pm with the maximum eclipse at around 7.09pm and the end of the eclipse at 8.04pm.
At the time of the eclipse, the sun will be low in the west-northwest position, so viewers will need a clear, unobstructed view toward the horizon and it is recommended that protected eclipse glasses are worn to look at the sun without damaging your eyes.
In Ireland, where the eclipse is deep but not total, it is expected that the dimming of the light should be noticeable without becoming full darkness.
As an added treat for star gazers around Mayo, the spectacular Perseid meteor shower is expected to be seen across the county on the evening of August 12 and into the morning of August 13.
The event is associated with the dusty debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 133 years. The meteoroids from the comet, mostly no bigger than a grain of sand, burn up as they hit the Earth's atmosphere at 36 miles per second, to produce a shooting stream of light in the sky.