Hundreds of people attended the National Museum Cardiff today to share the experience of the solar eclipse.
As Met Office officials confirmed Cardiff was one of the best places in the UK to witness the event, those present clearly enjoyed what they saw.
Nick Minardi, 35, of Clifton Street said: “I came to the event because it’s that fascination with the sun and the stars which is such an interesting subject.
“I didn’t think as many people would show up but what a cool event. In a way it’s good just to enjoy the atmosphere.”
Elliot Gagden, aged seven added: “Wow it’s amazing! It’s so cool. I have my camera to take a picture.”
People queued for up to 15 minutes to view the eclipse through special glasses the museum were distributing, while members of the public brought pin hole cameras and even colanders to view it.
“The internet told me about me about the whole colander thing.” Said Jess Werrell, 23 from Richmond Road. “I’m studying physics and this just seemed like a really sciency and cool way to see it all!”
Tom Cotterell, 36, from the Forest of Dean, who works at the museum added: “The best thing is that we were lucky with the weather. It has been a bit cold but other than that it has been great.
People gather outside the museum to watch the eclipse.
“I’ve heard it was better here in Cardiff than other parts of the country.”
Experts were also on hand to help out and also explained a little about the eclipse.
David Cunnah, 29, a national officer for Wales at the Institute of Physics said: “We wanted to help give everyone a chance to view the eclipse safely.
“We had about 85 per cent eclipse today, for 100 per cent you’d need to go to the Faroe Islands or Svalbard in Norway.
“We didn’t anticipate as many people as we have had today. There’s about a thousand.
“Before the event we were expecting 50 or so but it’s great that we can help engage so many members of the public in science.
“It was somewhere between 85 and 88 per cent and the next one like that is in 2026. The next total eclipse in the UK will be in 2090.”
Chris North, also a Research Associate at the School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University and has appeared on BBC’s The Sky at Night.
“It was a great opportunity to come and look at the wonders in our sky.
“There are maybe thousands of people coming with really simple ways to view it.
“They were here using colanders, pinhole cameras and special glasses, the glasses block out 99.99 per cent of the sun light and are a much safer way to look at the sun.”
His colleague Dr Matthew Smith, 29, from Penarth added: “We came here to help out with the event, showing people how to view the eclipse safely and how to take photos of it.
“It’s amazing just how many people came out. Who knew Cardiff had so many people who were just really excited to see it.”
