In pictures: Solar eclipse

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People across the UK and northern Europe have gathered to see the best solar eclipse in years. A path across the Earth's surface was plunged into darkness when the Moon covered up the Sun.

Image source, Haakon Mosvold Larsen/ap
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The Faroe Islands and Svalbard in the Arctic Circle were the only places to experience a total eclipse.

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People gathered for the start of a total solar eclipse in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands. Hotels in the area had been fully booked for months. Stargazers in the town got totality for a full two minutes, which started just before 09:41 GMT.

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Early signs of the eclipse were seen over the domes of the Eden Project near St Austell in Cornwall.

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Experts warned people not to look directly at the Sun because it could cause serious harm. Here a boy poses for a photograph wearing protective goggles in Berlin, Germany.

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The UK will not see a solar eclipse on this scale again until 2026.

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Despite some cloud, photographer Toby Melville captured this frame near Bridgwater in south west England.

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Students Greg Robertson and Sam Firminger waited for the eclipse at Clifton Observatory in Bristol.

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Total eclipses occur, on average, every 18 months somewhere on our planet.

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A statue on top of Milan's cathedral in Italy was photographed as though embracing the Sun.

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A homemade pin hole camera was spotted at Clifton Observatory in Bristol.

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Members of the Mid Kent Astronomical Society hoped for a glimpse of the eclipse on the coast in Grain.

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Teenagers waited to watch the spectacle of a partial solar eclipse in Zurich, Switzerland

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Today's eclipse marked the last total solar eclipse in Europe for over a decade. The next one will appear on 12 August 2026.

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A woman used a piece of card with a pinhole in the centre to view the eclipse safely.

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Apart from a television light people watched in darkness during totality in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands.

Image source, HAAKON MOSVOLD LARSEN/epa
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The total solar eclipse as seen at Svalbard in Norway.

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The last major eclipse was back in 1999 which is why everyone was so keen to catch a glimpse of Friday's event.