London Evening Standard/London

Thousands of Londoners will flock to vantage points across the capital today morning as a solar eclipse plunges rush hour into darkness - so long as clouds don’t spoil the view.
The eclipse begins at about 8.25am and ends at 10.40am. Almost 85% of the sun will be covered at 9.30am as the moon passes in front. Britain’s last major solar eclipse was on August 11, 1999, and there will not be another of such significance until 2026. Analysts suggest the event could cost the economy £635mn if workers take an hour off to experience it.
FirstCare, an absence monitoring firm, predicted a 10% rise in absenteeism today.
Experts warned people should not look at the sun at any point during the eclipse, even with sunglasses or welding glasses and despite the thick cloud cover forecast. The College of Optometrists said people risk blindness and burns to the back of their eyes by looking directly — or even glancing — at the sun while setting up shots and selfies on their phones. Royal Observatory astronomer Tom Kerss said the easiest DIY method was to make a pinhole eclipse projector from cardboard, or use a kitchen colander to view the shadow.
Hundreds of people are expected to descend on the observatory in Greenwich, which opens at 8am for “a morning of safe observing through telescopes and solar viewers”.
Professional astronomers will be on hand to answer questions. In Greenwich Park, there will be free solar telescopes set up in front of the General Wolfe statue. Protective viewing glasses will also be available courtesy of the Flamsteed Astronomy Society.
In Regent’s Park, the Royal Astronomical Society and Baker Street Irregular Astronomers will provide free viewing equipment. The rendezvous point is the Smokehouse BBQ & Grill in the north-east of the park. Primrose Hill is also expected to be busy, while Northolt Branch Astro will provide equipment at the top of Horsenden Hill in Wembley.

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