Sky darkens and temperatures drop during eclipse

In case you are wondering why the sky looked especially dark and foreboding over Ireland this morning, fear not, it wasn't the end of the world - or even the early onset of winter.

It was, in fact, a partial solar eclipse. Up to three quarters of the surface of the sun was obscured by the moon between 8.50am and 11.50pm.

The phenomenon began with a gradual darkening of the sky as the moon eases its way in front of the sun. At its middle point at 10.06am, up to 75 per cent of the sun's light was blocked to the south of the country.

The rest of Ireland experienced varying degrees of darkness, but at least 50 per cent of the sun's rays were reflected off the dark side of the moon.

The full effect of the eclipse was obscured by heavy cloud cover over large swathes of the country.

Astronomy Ireland  warned the public never to look directly at the sun as staring with a naked eye or through an unfiltered lens can cause permanent eye damage or even blindness.

A number of special "eclipse watches" were being held around the country. The main centres were at the Phoenix Park in Dublin at the Papal Cross car park and at Ballyphehane community centre in Cork.

Other watches were at Horseman viewing point, Boyle, Co Roscommon; Letterkenny and Carlow IT colleges; and the Millennium statue in Dundalk, Co Louth.

Partial eclipses occur every few years to varying degrees. The last total solar eclipse over Ireland was in 1999, and the next one is not due until 2090.

Seasoned eclipse watchers travelled to Spain, where today's eclipse was more pronounced. Seen from Madrid, the moon crossed directly in front of the sun. It was slightly smaller than the sun, producing an eclipse that left a ring of light in the sky, rather than a total eclipse.