The Moon will probably spoil tonight's sky watching but you might get lucky.
See AuroraWatch Red Alert:
https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/ 
 

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Apparently it's one of the strongest geomagnetic storms in about 20 years, I've heard. Let's just hope the front doesn't move in too quickly and the activity lasts until after dark. As Roger said though, there's a full moon tonight, so that may put a dampener on it.

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Cloud too here, I suspect. 😟
See:
https://spaceweather.com/ 
 

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I think it missed us!
https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/ 

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"Devil comet" 12P/Pons-Brooks: I'll be interested if anyone gets a photo. 😁
"Amateur astronomers are reporting naked-eye sightings of "devil comet" 12P/Pons-Brooks in the evening sky. The 4th magnitude comet is brightening as it approaches the sun for a close encounter later this month. It will be an easy target for night-sky cameras this week, and maybe even during the total solar eclipse on April 8."
https://spaceweather.com/ 

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How can I watch the Total Solar Eclipse online on April 8th 2024?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MJY_ptQW1o 

Solar eclipse 2024: Millions in North America will view what promises to be a blockbuster
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68597945 
 

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How can I watch the Total Solar Eclipse online on April 8th 2024?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MJY_ptQW1o 

Solar eclipse 2024: Millions in North America will view what promises to be a blockbuster
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68597945 
 

Where to watch in Britain and for how long:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68731785 
CP may get half-an-hour's worth but the forecast is for cloud and rain. The English can ignore it anyway.

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Eclipse fever is building. Millions in North America are hoping to spend around four minutes in total darkness as the Moon blocks the Sun's light on Monday.
Total solar eclipse: The 4-minute window into the Sun's secrets
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68742516 

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Eclipse 2024 live: Watch the full NASA broadcast – latest
The eclipse is about to begin. Totality will arrive at Mexico’s west coast around 11.07am local time, moving east until it leaves Newfoundland, Canada, around 5.16pm there

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2425343-eclipse-2024-live-watch-the-full-nasa-broadcast-latest/ 

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NASA Feed starts in about 30  minutes, I think.

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Totality right over Dallas right now.
 

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I'm currently watching it on timeanddate.com's Facebook livestream and it all looks really spectacular there.

As totality moves across each location which then temporarily becomes quite dark as a result, it has been interesting to notice the effect on that area's weather, especially as regards to the temperature.

In one such location, the temperature dropped from around 32°C to around 25°C as they were going into totality and I would then expect the temperature to just as quickly go back up again once totality ended with the Sun then re-appearing.

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The Lyrid meteor shower will peak between 22 and 23 April, although meteors might be spotted across the whole second half of the month, between 14 and 30 April.
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/lyrid-meteor-shower-when-where-see-it-uk 
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/astronomy/night-sky-highlights-april-2024 
 

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In one such location, the temperature dropped from around 32°C to around 25°C as they were going into totality and I would then expect the temperature to just as quickly go back up again once totality ended with the Sun then re-appearing.

I remember back on the 11th August 1999, when there was a 97% eclipse here (and total in Cornwall), it became very still, all the birds stopped their chirping and there was just a slight "nip in the air" feeling as the maximum was reached... the light started to fade, too, but it was oh so brief.

(I found out then that it takes at least 95% of the sun to vanish before you start to think "oh, it's getting dark"... shows just how bright it is!)

EDIT: Coincidentally, there's a 91% eclipse on the 12th August 2026. And unlike the 1999 one, it'll be around 90% or more over Scotland too! SW Ireland will see the greatest cover nearby, at 98% - you'll have to go to northern Spain or Portugal if you want to see totality. And if you want to go there, you'll probably need to book this summer!

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I remember back on the 11th August 1999, when there was a 97% eclipse here (and total in Cornwall), it became very still, all the birds stopped their chirping and there was just a slight "nip in the air" feeling as the maximum was reached... the light started to fade, too, but it was oh so brief.

(I found out then that it takes at least 95% of the sun to vanish before you start to think "oh, it's getting dark"... shows just how bright it is!)

EDIT: Coincidentally, there's a 91% eclipse on the 12th August 2026. And unlike the 1999 one, it'll be around 90% or more over Scotland too! SW Ireland will see the greatest cover nearby, at 98% - you'll have to go to northern Spain or Portugal if you want to see totality. And if you want to go there, you'll probably need to book this summer!

The 1999 eclipse coincided with my being in hospital with a suspected MI - but I was able to persuade them to discharge me in time to watch it. 😱 One of our most memorable eclipses was in West Africa in the early 80s. We had a climbing vine on a trellis in the garden, for shade - and every gap in the leaves projected a "pin hole camera" image of the crescent sun covering everything in the images. Like something out of Comet in Moominland! ☄☄☄
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_in_Moominland 
 

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every gap in the leaves projected a "pin hole camera" image of the crescent sun covering everything in the images. Like something out of Comet in Moominland! ☄☄☄
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_in_Moominland 
 

When I was much younger, my dad produced a very musty set of books called "World of the Children ", dating form 1948 - I think they were his when he was a child. It was an encyclopedia but written as a long story rather than a series of articles, and one of the stories covered an eclipse - the children were amazed to see that the dappled spots of sunlight under a tree became little crescents during the eclipse.

Remembering this, I made sure to check during the 1999 eclipse - and, of course, it was spot on. I just wish I'd had a digital camera to capture it, but there'll be a good opportunity in just over 2 years' time.

(I also suggested years later, when I was working in the school and a partial eclipse was due, that the science teachers might want to take the kids outside to see the effect for themselves. To my surprise, they actually did (I don't think they'd thought of it, but realised it would be a good lesson!)

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I am confirming the Crescent shapes during the 1999 eclipse, as I noticed those too whilst in the back garden with a pierced piece of card to show my, then, very young children but noticed the crescents on the ground from the neighbours tree shadow too. It was pretty cool. My mum was in Falmouth at the time, staying with my gran so got to experience totality.
Pretty much experienced all that has already been described by others here.

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Probably the most spectacular wedding photo someone could ever have! Hope that's a marriage that lasts! 😮

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/MaoLtNErCCWzyU5H/ 

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Probably the most spectacular wedding photo someone could ever have! Hope that's a marriage that lasts! 😮

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/MaoLtNErCCWzyU5H/ 

"There once was a girl from Detroit
Who at kissing was very adroit,
She could pucker her lips
Into total eclipse,
Or open them out like a quoit!
😲

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I remember back on the 11th August 1999, when there was a 97% eclipse here (and total in Cornwall), it became very still, all the birds stopped their chirping and there was just a slight "nip in the air" feeling as the maximum was reached... the light started to fade, too, but it was oh so brief.

(I found out then that it takes at least 95% of the sun to vanish before you start to think "oh, it's getting dark"... shows just how bright it is!)

EDIT: Coincidentally, there's a 91% eclipse on the 12th August 2026. And unlike the 1999 one, it'll be around 90% or more over Scotland too! SW Ireland will see the greatest cover nearby, at 98% - you'll have to go to northern Spain or Portugal if you want to see totality. And if you want to go there, you'll probably need to book this summer!

I was on the roof of the tax office (where I worked at the time) for the 1999 eclipse.

I most remember the light turning 'odd'.

 

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