12/08/2026
Partial Solar Eclipse - Hartlepool | 12th August 2026
Tonight’s partial solar eclipse, photographed from the Old West Quay in Hartlepool, with maximum coverage at around 19:07.
One of the things I love about this image is the strange wavy, almost rippling appearance around the edges of both the Sun and Moon. This is atmospheric turbulence, often referred to by astronomers as atmospheric seeing.
With the Sun low in the evening sky, its light was travelling through a much thicker layer of our atmosphere. Pockets of air at different temperatures and densities bend the light by tiny amounts, and at 600mm that distortion becomes magnified, making the edges appear to shimmer, ripple and “boil”.
You can see it particularly clearly along the dark silhouette of the Moon, a great visual demonstration of just how turbulent our atmosphere can be.
A big thank you to everyone who came over to say hello at the Old West Quay and had a look at the eclipse on the back of my camera. It was lovely being able to share the view with so many people! 😊
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