What time is the solar eclipse on June 10 2021 and will we see it in Scarborough?

June 10 2021 sees the first solar eclipse of 2021 taking place, an annular solar eclipse also known as a 'ring of fire'.

This is what you need to know.

What is a solar eclipse?

Today's event is an annular solar eclipse when when the moon moves across the face of the Sun and the earth, moon and sun are aligned.

The eclipse causes the sun to appear as a very bright ring, or annulus, known as a 'ring of fire'.

However, in the UK, only a partial eclipse will be visible meaning viewers will see a crescent Sun.

It is not a total eclipse when the moon completely blocks the sun - the next one of which viewable from the UK isn't until September 23 2090.

What time is it happening?

For the Yorkshire Coast the partial eclipse is set to start at 10.10am and end at 12.30pm.

This maximum eclipse - when the moon is closest to the centre of the sun and blocking most of it from view will be at 11.18am.

Will we be able to see it in Scarborough?

It all depends on whether the cloud clears in time.

Forecasters have said the East of the county stands the best chance of catching the action, so we may get lucky.

The Met Office currently predicts that the clouds will start to clear from 10am.

How to watch it

Looking directly at the sun can be dangerous and potentially cause damage to the eyes.

To prevent this it is recommended to watch eclipses using special eclipse sunglasses.

You can also make projector using just a cardboard box - details of how to do this explained by the Royal Observatory can be read here.

What if I miss it?

The next solar eclipse viewable from Scarborough will be a partial eclipse on October 25 2022.