Public event for deepest eclipse in ten years

The eclipse takes place this weekend.

It was March 2015 when Ireland last saw an eclipse as deep as what will happen this Saturday, March 29th.

Expected around 11am, Astronomy Ireland is advising everyone to view the eclipse and to send photos and reports to the society for publication in a special report in Astronomy Ireland magazine.

The eclipse will last for about 2 hours, as the moon moves slowly in the front of the sun.

A special watch event will be held at Astronomy Ireland's Headquarters in Dublin.

The Eclipse Watch on Saturday runs from 9:30am until 12pm.

There will be special telescopes fitted with EU-certified filters to safely give the ultimate view of the Sun being eclipsed.

"Not only will people be able to see the eclipse as sharp as possible, but you will even see many sunspots - giant cool areas of the Sun's blazing disk that are as big as countries, and some can be bigger than the entire Earth. It's an amazing sight, so we want as many families and members of the public to come and view the Sun in safety with us." said David Moore, Editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine.

Mr Moore continued: "With maximum eclipse set for 11am across all of Ireland, when up to 57% of the Sun will be covered, it will go a little dark and the temperature will drop!"

Astronomy Ireland is warning people to view in safety and to never use telescopes or binoculars.

The safest way to view the historic event is to punch a small hole in a piece of card, let sunlight fall through it onto a piece of white paper held a few feet away.

This will clearly show the huge 'bite' taken out of the Sun.

"The exact time of the eclipse will only vary by a few minutes around Ireland, centred on the times given above. View 5 minutes before these times just to be sure if you want to see the whole event," added Mr Moore.