Tonight’s UK solar eclipse: how to watch it safely

Siu12/08/2026

A solar eclipse is one of those moment that if you blink and you’ll miss it but one strong advice here and that is do not look at it directly.

If you’re in the UK and planning to look up tonight (not literally), here’s MGAM’s guide to solar eclipse eye safety, plus some safe DIY viewing ideas if you didn’t manage to buy eclipse glasses or like me, they did not arrive ontime (thanks Amazon!).

Question: can you look at a solar eclipse with the naked eye?

Absolutely not is the answer!

Tonight’s event is a partial solar eclipse, which means the Sun is never fully covered. Even a thin bright crescent of Sun can cause serious eye damage.

Solar eclipse eye safety: what can go wrong?

Looking at the Sun (even briefly) during a partial eclipse can cause solar retinopathy damage to the retina from intense light. The tricky part is you may not feel pain in the moment, but symptoms can appear later.

Watch out for symptoms after any accidental viewing, such as:

Blurred or distorted vision
A dark or blank spot in your central vision
Colours looking “washed out”

If you’ve looked at the Sun by accident and notice changes, seek professional advice as soon as you can. The only safe way to look directly at the Sun is proper eclipse glasses and NOT sunglasses.

To look directly at the Sun, you need special-purpose solar filters (commonly called eclipse glasses) that meet the right safety standard.

Important:

Regular sunglasses are not safe, not even very dark ones.
Don’t rely on “fashion tint”, polarised lenses, or multiple pairs of sunglasses.

Remember, your sunnies are for style, not for staring at the Sun. At MGAM, we love a statement frame as much as anyone, but this is the moment to separate eyewear style from eye protection. Sunglasses are designed for everyday brightness and UV and certainly not for concentrated solar viewing.

Never do this (even if you’re wearing eclipse glasses)

These are common mistakes that can make things dangerous fast:

Do not look through binoculars or a telescope unless they have the correct solar filter fitted to the front of the optics.
Do not look through a camera lens (including phone cameras), especially with any optical zoom.
Do not use smoked glass, CDs, foil, or homemade filters to look directly at the Sun.

No eclipse glasses? 3 safe DIY ways to view the eclipse

If you missed out on eclipse glasses, you’ve still got options so, don’t panic! The key is projection and not direct viewing.

1) The classic pinhole projector (two-card method)

You’ll need: two pieces of card, a pin, and a bright patch of ground/wall.

How to do it:

Poke a small, neat hole in one piece of card.
Stand with your back to the Sun.
Hold the hole-card up so sunlight passes through the hole.
Let the light fall onto the second card held a short distance away.
You’ll see a tiny projected image of the Sun which will look “bitten” during the eclipse.

2) A cereal-box eclipse viewer (pinhole box projector)

You’ll need: a cereal box or a shoe box, a piece of white paper, foil, tape, scissors, and a pin.

How to do it (simple version):

Cut a small square window in one end of the box.
Tape foil over the window and poke a pinhole in the foil.
Tape white paper inside the opposite end as a screen.
With your back to the Sun, aim the pinhole end toward the Sun.
Look inside the box at the paper screen to see the projected Sun.

3) Use nature’s pinhole projector a leafy shadows

This one’s brilliant if you’re out and about. When sunlight passes through gaps between leaves, it projects little images of the Sun onto the ground. During an eclipse, those spots can turn into tiny crescents.

Tip: look for a tree casting dappled shade onto a pale pavement or wall.

Phone cameras and eclipse photos: what’s safe?

If you’re tempted to film it for Instagram: don’t point your phone at the Sun and stare at the screen for ages. It is also advisable to look at the opposite direction from the eclipse but have your smartphone on selfie mode so, you can still see the eclipse on your screen.

MGAM’s safer approach:

Use projection methods and film the projected image.
Film the changing light and the crescent shadows under trees.

What time is the eclipse tonight in the UK?

Exact timings vary by location, but UK sources report the eclipse begins in the early evening, peaks around just after 7pm, and ends later in the evening.

MGAM tip: check a trusted UK source for your town/city timing before you head out.

Solar eclipse checklist