IT was supposed to be the event of the decade but scores of people have been left disappointed after the weather ruined their chances of seeing the Solar Eclipse.
Around 87 per cent of the sun was hidden by the moon this morning, starting at 8.23am and ‘visible’ in Winchester at around 9.30am.
Some 30 people gathered outside the cathedral for the event.
Louise Gurtekin, 35, lunchtime supervisor, of Winchester, and her friend Donna Jeffrey, 35, lunchtime supervisor, of Abbotts Barton, had an ‘eclipse party’ and made viewing boxes (pictured below).
Ms Gurtekin said: “I am very disappointed. We have been following it all morning and came out especially to see it.”
Ms Jeffrey added: “I made these boxes last night for my son and then decided that I wanted them because he is at school. I was a bit worried that we would go blind if we didn’t use them. It did go a bit dark outside and cold. I did expect more people to be out by the cathedral. It’s been a bit of a non-event.”
Lynne Sharpe, 70, retired, of Hyde Street, Winchester, said: “I would quite like to see something other than a slightly dark sky. The birds haven’t stopped singing.”
Winchester City Council created its version of the eclipse (tweet below).
Check out the #SolarEclipse here in #winchester (thanks to the swift artist licence by our designer) pic.twitter.com/zwyTVAuWrc
— Winchester CC (@WinchesterCity) March 20, 2015
Andrew Cowie, 35, surgeon, of Parchment Street, in Winchester, (pictured above) was by the cathedral with his son Cameron, three. He said: “We wanted to come out and see if we could see anything. I think I will live with it [not seeing the eclipse]. My brother is in Iceland and I think he had a much better view. All we have is grey sky.”
The Eclipse Inn, in The Square, was visible during the eclipse (pictured below).
The last time a Solar eclipse was viewable in this part of the world was 1999.
That had a magnitude of 0.988 which means almost 99 per cent of the Sun's disc was covered by the Moon.
By comparison, the eclipse today has a magnitude of 0.868.
Send us your pictures by emailing news@hampshirechronicle.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here