As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse is when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and fully or partially blocks ("occults") the Sun. This can happen only at new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth in an alignment referred to as syzygy. In a total eclipse, the disk of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon. In partial and annular eclipses only part of the Sun is obscured.
There are a lot of Dublin events on at the moment, and I think its time for something a little different. This will be by far the best partial solar eclipse we'll get to see in Dublin probably in our lifetimes. We won't quite go total... approximately 80-90% of the suns disk will be covered by the moon. But those are the best numbers we're going to get for quite a while. Believe it or not, the next TOTAL solar eclipse in Ireland will be visible in Cork on September 23, 2090. By then we'll all be six foot under....
Heres a great animation of what it'll look like during our event on the 20th.
http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/ireland/dublin?iso=20150320
This event will begin at 8:24am on the 20th March 2015 when the moon touches the suns edge, and will end at 10:37am when the moon leaves the suns edge. The eclipse will be at its maximum for us at 9:29am. Now, this is Ireland, and you know it might well be (probably will be) cloudy. But even if it is we'll get to see deep twilight when it would otherwise be bright. Geochat aplenty will probably be had regardless, and I'll bring along some Jaffa Cakes (spot the reference) at the very least.
I realise that a Friday morning is a really awkward time for an event but nature doesn't stop its spectacles for employment requirements. So I'm not expecting the full Dublin turnout, but if you can book time off work for this one, do. It'll be an interesting morning and even if it is miserably cloudly, the experience of an eclipse will stay with you for years. Heres the suns approximate position in the sky over Dublin city from where we'll be standing.
I don't have any eclipse viewing equipment apart from a home-made solar filter for my camera, nor did I find out about the eclipse early enough to buy any. If you have something useful, eg: a pinhole projector box, bring it for us all to enjoy!
WARNING: The only problem with a solar eclipse is that you can't watch it. Do NOT, under ANY circumstances view the Eclipse with the naked eye or through an optical viewfinder, binoculars, etc etc. Looking directly at the eclipse, even for just a few seconds, can cause permanent damage to the retina of the eye. This damage can result in impairment of vision, up to and including blindness. The retina has no sensitivity to pain, and the effects of retinal damage may not appear for hours, so there is no warning that injury is occurring.
Looking at the Sun during an eclipse is as dangerous as looking at it when there is no eclipse. Viewing the Sun's disk through any kind of optical aid (binoculars, a telescope, or even an optical camera viewfinder) is extremely hazardous and can cause irreversible eye damage within a fraction of a second.
Enjoy the dark, use a pinhole projector, or view it though a DIGITAL VIEWFINDER like on most digital cameras. Obviously, I'm not responsible for anyone getting their eyes fried.