Kathy Sheridan links Eclipse Leeds to the Wednesday evening sky, when Ireland is due to see a partial solar eclipse between 6pm and 8pm. The event will not turn the day fully dark, but it is being treated as the deepest eclipse to pass Ireland since 1999.
Tens of thousands of special eclipse glasses have already been sold by Astronomy Ireland in recent weeks. That leaves the practical question for people in Ireland simple enough: find a clear view between 6pm and 8pm on Wednesday, or the eclipse may be partly hidden by cloud.
Kathy Sheridan on animal reactions
Sheridan ties the eclipse to earlier reports of how animals respond when light drops fast. Researchers studying the 2024 eclipse across North America found that 29 of the 52 bird species changed their usual patterns of singing and behaviour during the event.
She also points to the 2017 solar eclipse at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia, South Carolina, where 2½ minutes of near-total darkness set off unusual activity among the animals. The male of the gorilla group charged the surrounding glass, giraffes formed tight huddles near the entrance to their evening barn, and all four Galápagos tortoises suddenly became more active and dispersed in different directions.
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia
After the eclipse, a giraffe and a female baboon kept pacing for an hour. The old Galápagos tortoises gazed up at the sky after the light returned. Those reactions are why the Wednesday view in Ireland is drawing attention even though it is only partial.
Met.ie satellite pictures refresh every 15 minutes, and the aim on Wednesday is a cloudless viewing point somewhere between 6pm and 8pm. Ireland’s next total solar eclipse is expected in 2090, so this one sits between a public viewing opportunity and a reminder that the country will not see a total eclipse for decades.
