It will not go completely dark over Germany, but the eagerly awaited solar eclipse will still be well worth watching here on Wednesday evening. According to astronomers, somewhere between 84 and 90 percent of the Sun will be covered at maximum, depending on where you are, leaving a narrow crescent behind. The weather, too, looks set to play along.
The partial solar eclipse will, in principle, be visible everywhere in Germany. The event will last almost two hours in total and will coincide with the onset of sunset. In Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Moon begins to edge in front of the Sun from 7.11pm. In the federal states further south, the cosmic spectacle begins a few minutes later, in Bavaria at around 7.19pm.
The high point, with maximum coverage of the Sun, is reached roughly an hour later, again with a slight time lag running from north to south. According to the Haus der Astronomie in Heidelberg, the maximum occurs in Kiel and Rostock at 8.07pm, in Berlin at 8.09pm, in Dresden at 8.11pm, in Cologne at 8.13pm, in Munich and Stuttgart at 8.16pm, and in Freiburg at 8.18pm.
After that, the Moon gradually frees the Sun again, until the partial eclipse has ended everywhere in Germany at some point between 8.48pm and 9.03pm. This coincides with sunset, which means the Sun will still be partly eclipsed as it goes down.
The German Weather Service (DWD), at least, is optimistic. Thanks to the prevailing high-pressure influence, it will be possible to observe the solar eclipse "outstandingly well almost nationwide", the service announced on Tuesday. Only the north will be crossed at times by a few fields of high cloud.
Because of the timing shortly before sunset, observers absolutely need an unobstructed view of the horizon towards the west. At the start of the partial eclipse, the Sun still stands about twelve degrees above the horizon, according to the Haus der Astronomie, but during the peak of the eclipse it is only around four degrees. Buildings, trees or hills can quickly scupper the whole plan.
The evening of 12 August has more to offer once the Sun goes down. Between 10pm and 11pm CEST, it is worth looking up for the Perseids, a meteor shower that sends shooting stars across the sky every year from mid-July to late August. The display is usually at its strongest between 9 and 15 August, and this year the best night is 12 to 13 August. There will be no moonlight to spoil the view, so the sky will be very dark. Even so, forecasts suggest around 20 shooting stars an hour at most in Germany.
Even with the Sun largely covered and dusk setting in, you must under no circumstances look at it unprotected with the naked eye. According to experts, the lens of the eye concentrates the light like a burning glass, and lasting damage to the light-sensitive retina can occur within moments. By the time those affected notice it, it is already too late.
Safe observation, according to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, is only possible with standardised and appropriately marked special eclipse glasses. Indirect observation by projecting the image onto a surface, using a pinhole camera, for example, is also suitable.
There are emphatic warnings against improvised aids such as folded emergency blankets, glacier goggles or strips of black film. Under no circumstances should you look at the Sun through binoculars or cameras: the optics concentrate the light and intensify the damage to the eyes.
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